Persona 3: Human Ingenuity
by AvailableUserNameAttempt2
Summary: Persona 3, but the team is gonna have to rely on creativity, technology, and field research to defeat shadows efficiently. Dangerous excursions to Tartarus bring the team together. Romance blooms.
1. Chapter 1

**Authors Note:** I'm a shit writer. Please criticize me so I can be somewhat competent.

 **Last edited 05/02/18**. Not going to bite off more than I can chew. Looking back I can see that I had a lot of ideas that I just can't deliver on with my skill level. Going to cut down a lot of it and go with a story that I'm actually capable of writing with some degree of quality.

* * *

 **Terms and Conditions May Apply**

Cadet training prepared the body and mind for the rigors of military life. That didn't refer to rappelling from a helicopter guns blazing or clearing out a building during a tense hostage rescue. As Minato Arisato had found out, reality was far less exciting. The most essential skill he had acquired was the ability to accept that his time would be wasted and complaining would only make things more unbearable. Be it waiting at formation for hours while the cadet organizer was sound asleep, or getting volunteer'd to wash the car of whatever enlisted man was fortunate enough to run into him.

It was this ability to shut up and put up with it that allowed Minato Arisato to ignore the eerily green sky and step over the sanguine puddles on the way to his dorm. Was it a spooky block party? Did his train drop him off in the the ghost realm? It wasn't his business. The address was correct and that's all there was to it.

Still, behind his carefully crafted bored expression Minato couldn't shake growing number of questions gnawing away at him. Iwatodai was no Tokyo, but it still had a night life. Despite that, there were no street lamps, no food stands, not even the tale-tell stench of vomit from drunken salarymen was present. Was this a city-wide black out? Maybe. But that didn't explain the lack of cars or pedestrians.

No bugs, no birds, no drunk laughter. The complete isolation was a little unnerving. His hand instinctively felt around the lining of his blazer until it found the familiar texture of an envelope.

 _My silver lining._

Minato was a... competent student. He scored above the curve in most exams and sat comfortably in the top 30% of his not entirely prestigious academy. He expected to coast through high school and get scouted by one of the shittier colleges in the country. He'd get a degree in some easy field, commission in as an officer, and live the good life outside of barracks housing. That was the plan. What he didn't expect was a full ride scholarship by the continent's largest tech firm for one of its own extremely competitive and exorbitantly expensive high schools. Housing, meals, transportation, moving fees, trips, tuition, it was all covered. There was absolutely zero justification for their generous offer. He hadn't applied to any scholarships. He wasn't an honor's student. He had no family connections to the Kirijo Group.

A morally sound man would have called their scholarship department and asked if there had been a mistake. Minato, however, opted to fill out the attached forms and send them without a second thought. His foster family agreed to it pretty quickly after they found out that they'd still receive their monthly education and rent stipends from the government. A classic win-win scenario.

He snapped out of his trail of thought as he spotted a large structure in the corner of his eye.

 _This is the Kirijo Dorm?_

The street surrounding the building was decorated with the occasional red puddle and a distinct lack of illumination. Large ornate double doors awaited him as he scanned the barren streets. He sighed and shouldered his duffel bag. Perhaps the reason why he'd received the scholarship was that they needed students to populate this city with god awful infrastructure.

He rapped his knuckles gently on the door before letting himself inside.

A dark void greeted him as he stepped into the lobby. It quickly became apparent to him that the power was also out in this building. Not even the digital clock on the reception counter survived the outage.

Minato shrugged his shoulders and started to look around the lobby for a staircase. It wasn't his problem if the landlord neglected to shell out money for an auxiliary generator. He bumped into the furnishings haphazardly as his eyes struggled to adjust to the darkness. The further he moved into the dark room, the more he got the feeling that he was being watched.

It was ridiculous. He knew that watching horror movies fucked with his perception and it was always best not to indulge his delusi-

"You're late. I've been waiting a long time for you."

Minato froze as his brain registered those words. The speaker was young, far too young to be his Kirijo liaison. His erect posture straightened further than he ever thought possible and a small surge of adrenaline began to flow through his body. His mind concocted images of demonic spirits or haunted dolls lurking in the dark room, waiting to pounce the second he made a sudden movement.

"If you want to proceed, just sign this contract," said the child-like voice.

Steeling his nerves, Minato slowly turned around to face the creepy voice. He saw a kid behind the reception counter dressed in black and white striped clothes, much like a prisoner. He couldn't have been older than twelve. The boy's pale skin was clearly visible in the dark lobby. The bright blue of his eyes contrasted clearly against his face.

Minato took a few tentative steps towards the child. He wanted to bolt out of the room but with all the coffin decorations outside and the lack of people he suspected that he might actually be on a reality show. He'd play it cool for now on the off chance that his frightened scampering would end up on social media.

"All it says is that you'll take responsibility for your actions, you know, the usual," the kid coolly explained.

Minato opened his mouth to inquire about the boy's identity but was quickly shut down by having the red leather bound contract shoved in his face. He grabbed the contract gingerly and opened it.

 _'I chooseth this fate of mine own free will.'_

The wording of the contract worried him. He couldn't shake the feeling that this was some sort of Faustian bargain. He raised an eyebrow at the grinning child as he went over that line in his head. Deciding not to prolong his encounter with the spirit realm, Minato signed his name quickly and handed the contract back to the pre-teen prisoner. He didn't know much about ghost law, but he had a feeling he wouldn't have to answer a court summons from this kid anytime soon.

The kid hugged the contract to his chest and looked up at him with a creepy smile.

"Time is something no one can escape from. It delivers us all to the same, tragic end. Wishing for it to end, wishing for it to pause or stop. It won't work. It won't go away," he foreshadowed.

With those ominous words the boy disappeared into the darkness.

* * *

Minato was left scratching his head as he looked at the now vacant lobby. The boy was gone. He hadn't heard a single footstep but the pale kid had just vanished from the room. His heart began to beat faster. He'd seen a ghost. He'd seen a ghost and signed a contract with it. His eyes widened. What the hell had he agreed to?

 _This **has** to be the wrong address._

The sound of tentative footsteps became apparent to him as he searched through the reception counter for a business card or something along the lines to verify the address. His entire body stiffened as they got closer. This was it. The ghost had returned to consume the soul he had signed away.

He turned to face the new specter so he could at least grovel for mercy before being shipped off to the dark realm. He froze when he saw a girl about his age. She just stood there, shaking but not breaking eye contact. He thought he could make out a faint nervous expression in the darkness.

"W-Who are...How did you…" She whispered.

Minato took a tentative step forward. Was this his Kirijo liaison? There was barely enough moonlight to see any facial features...

Her eyes widened and she reached for her thigh before raising a gleaming object and pointing it at his chest.

"S-Stay back!" She yelled.

Her hands shook violently as she struggled to keep the gun on target.

 _The gun...THE GUN?_

Minato's heart threatened to burst through his ribcage as adrenaline flowed through him.

 _Run or fight?!_

He wanted to glance around the room and see if there was any strategic cover. He wanted to kick the gun out of her hand and put her in an arm bar. He wanted to do **something** but his brain had decided to add another tool to his fight or flight response: freeze.

"Takeba wait!" A female voice barked out.

Just then the dorm's lights flashed back on. He rubbed his eyes and examined the situation. A brunette girl was standing in front of him, handgun now pointed safely at the floor, with her finger resting on the trigger. Whoever she was she certainly meant business. Behind her was a woman wearing what looked like a Gekkoukan uniform. The woman stepped between him and the armed girl.

She was tall. Her expression was completely nonchalant despite the scene before her. She practically exuded authority and wealth. He'd wager his life that she came from old money.

She smiled warmly at him. "Sorry about the reception, we weren't expecting you to arrive this late."

Minato let his shoulders slouch a bit and let out a sigh of relief. So he was at the right address.

The woman gave him a short bow.

"My name is Mitsuru Kirijo, I'm one the students that lives in this dorm," she greeted.

Minato's face blanched as he heard her name. Not only was he immensely under dressed for a meeting with the daughter of Asia's most powerful CEO; he had also managed to get into an armed altercation with what he could only assume was one of her security personnel.

The brunette behind her glanced at him. "Who's he?"

He straightened his back in the posture that had been drilled into him by his military adopters and offered the aristocrat the deepest bow he could muster. "Minato Arisato."

"Sorry about the late arrival, Kirijo-sama," he apologized.

"It's quite alright. You just caught us off-guard," replied Mitsuru.

She turned to the brunette. "He's a transfer student being sponsored by the Kirijo Group. It was a last minute decision to assign him here, he'll eventually be moved to a room in the boy's dorm."

"...Is it okay for him to be here?" The brunette cautiously holstered her handgun.

Mitsuru looked at him and gave him a small smile.

"I guess we'll see." She mused.

She motioned to the brunette. "This is Yukari Takeba. She'll be a junior this spring, just like you," she said after giving her an encouraging push towards the teen.

Yukari gave him an awkward bow.

"...Hey," she mumbled out.

Minato glanced at her thigh and back at her. In all his life he had never seen a minor with a firearms permit, let alone a guard card. Did the Kirijo Group really have enough sway with the Diet to commission teenage armed security...?

He might as well ask. "Why do you have a gun?"

The question seemed to knock her off guard. She wrung her hands and did everything she could to avoid making eye contact.

"Um...It's sorta like a hobby...Well not a hobby but…" She trailed before looking at Mitsuru pleadingly.

The red head caved and bailed her out.

"You know how it is these days, it's for self defense. It's not a real gun of course," she explained.

She glanced over to the clock on the counter. "It's getting late so you should get some rest."

He lacked the energy or the testicular fortitude to ask the billionaire how she expected him to believe the gun was fake. He gave her a simple nod.

"The belongings you mailed us last week have been placed in your room. It's on the second floor on the right-hand side. Takeba, can you show Arisato-san the way?" She asked in a tone that implied Yukari didn't have much of a choice in the matter.

Yukari nodded reluctantly.

"Right...follow me," she said while motioning for him to follow her.

* * *

The duo traveled up the stairs and into the beige corridor of the second floor. They walked in silence until Yukari stopped abruptly at the end of the hall.

She gestured to the door on the right side. "This is it...Pretty easy to remember since it's right at the end of the hall right? Oh yeah, make sure you don't lose your key, or you'll never hear the end of it… So, any questions?"

Minato suppressed a chuckle as countless topics popped up in his head. _Where did you get your firearms license? Is this place haunted? What's that SEES armband stand for?_ At the end of the day it wasn't any of his business. He could overlook everything that had happened today after a good night's rest.

He shook his head while he dug around for his key. Yukari looked unsatisfied from his non-verbal response and took a step towards him.

"Um...Can I ask you something? On your way here from the station, was everything okay?" She asked.

"Yes." He really didn't feel like having small chat right now.

Yukari sighed, still not satisfied with his response. "Alright then...I'm sure you've got other questions but they can wait until later, right?"

Minato gave her a curt nod and dismissed himself. He slammed his door shut, jumped on the bed, and salvaged whatever hours of sleep he could.


	2. Chapter 2

**Last Edited 05/10/18:** Rewritten for the better

* * *

 **Return to Normalcy**

Minato forced his eyes open as the shrieks of his alarm started to become unbearable. He slapped the clock haphazardly and stared at the red LED screen with heavy eyes. It was always at times like this that his bed felt unbelievably cozy and his responsibilities far too distant to worry about. Surely savoring another eight minutes of sleep wouldn't be such a crime?

 _Sergeant Kusunoki would've flipped over your mattress and signed you up for "extracurricular activities" by now..._

Fortunately for the teen, Sergeant Kusunoki was stuck teaching punctuality to his less fortunate comrades back at the academy. He, on the other hand, was free of bullshit regulations for the next year and by god was he gonna abuse his freedom as much as possible.

No more hospital folds, no more minimalist decor, no more PT. He had no leash around his neck. Today he would sleep in.

* * *

Akihiko dug around the counter for his protein mix. Despite Shinjiro's warning about the potential heart and kidney disease that overindulgence might bring, he wasn't willing to risk losing any strength, not now of all times. The more he bulked, the less strenuous his work became. That in turn would free up more time to train, more chances to bulk, it was a cycle of positive feedback... At least in theory.

He groaned and scooped some creatine powder into the beverage. It annoyed him to no end that he couldn't gain mass naturally. He worked out harder and ate better than anyone on the boxing team, but he was still stuck at 75 kilos. He had to accept the reality that no amount of chicken breasts and bench-pressing would get him more muscle mass at this point.

 ***THUD***

The senior snapped his head at the sound. Mitsuru and Yukari wouldn't be up for another hour... Did a piece of furniture fall over? Maybe their new guest got clumsy and knocked over the television set?

He sighed and went upstairs to investigate.

* * *

Minato awoke to the feeling of hard tapping on his shoulder. His bleary eyes cracked open as he struggled to focus on the figure in front of him.

"Hey, you alright!?"

He blinked a few times until he could clearly see a teen sporting a "Gekkoukan Boxing Club" sweater kneeling at his side.

The teen waved a hand at him.

"Can you hear me?" He asked.

He nodded.

The teen looked him over. "You bleeding? That was a pretty loud fall."

Minato rubbed his head. "...Fall?"

The silver haired teen rubbed his chin sagely. "Yeah. I imagine that you rolled out of bed."

It was then that he realized that he was lying on a hard surface.

"So much for sleeping in..." he muttered.

The teen offered him a hand and hoisted him up.

"Hey, you're new here, right? I'm Akihiko Sanada. I'm a senior at Gekkoukan High," he said.

He gave the senior a short bow. "Minato Arisato."

Akihiko pat him on the shoulder and motioned to the doorway.

"Well, you're up anyways. Why not join me for a morning jog? I could use some company."

Minato looked at his bed longingly before nodding. "Might as well."

* * *

Minato pushed back the feeling of nausea that threatened to overwhelm him. His tracksuit was practically glued on to him as sweat continued to pour down from his head. The now warm plastic bottle in his hand cruelly reminded him of just how little water remained.

His masochist of a dorm-mate had managed to conceal the fact that their little morning jog happened to be following the most grueling possible route. Lactic acid burned away at his tired muscles as his lungs could no longer afford to feed his legs the energy they required. His heart was at its limit. Every beat was tactile. The cool breeze slapping his face was the only solace he had in this impromptu marathon he'd been drafted into.

Akihiko only exacerbated his suffering. He'd been getting chattier and chattier throughout the run, completely oblivious to his ragged breaths. The boxer's speed had stayed consistent throughout the entire run and only faint beads of sweat were visible on his otherwise unsullied face. The man had either won the genetic lottery or he was on some anabolic steroids.

The senior turned to him with a competitive grin on his face.

"Most members of the boxing club give up around the 4 kilometer mark. I'm surprised you managed to keep up. You do track in your old school?" Akihiko asked with a hint of excitement in his voice.

 _F-Four kilometers!?_

It became clear to him that the humanoid shape in front of him was a machine of some sorts. It would explain the lack of empathy and perspiration he was displaying.

Minato took in as much oxygen as his lungs would allow him before answering his senpai.

"Sort of..." He forced out.

Despite his best efforts, the lactic acid burning through his shins forced him to slow his pace. He'd done far more than 4 kilometers before, but never this fast and at this incline.

The senior graciously slowed down to match him and grinned. "There's too many lightweights in the club as is. If you're interested in boxing I could probably get you in. We could use someone with your endurance."

He grimaced. Anything requiring endurance was hard work. His entire goal in life was an easy paycheck with all the material luxuries he craved. Hard work, effort, and investment were last resorts. There was no way in hell he'd sink time into getting the shit punched out of him just for bragging rights and a participation trophy.

He took another deep breath before nodding to his senpai.

"I'll consider... it." Minato punctuated his sentence with a cough as his dry throat reminded him of how foolish it had been not to bring more water.

* * *

Minato felt disgusting. A good mix of sweat and grime coated his skin as the dorm's air conditioning slapped against his face. Akihiko had easily beaten him to the Men's shower thanks to his robotic stamina. He, on the other hand, was stuck bracing himself against the railing of the staircase as he forced his battered body up his room. He scowled as he dragged himself upstairs.

* * *

After taking a quick shower Minato stepped out into the hallway of the second floor, stopping only after noticing a familiar girl in a pink cardigan knocking on his room's door.

"Hey it's Yukari! Are you awake? Hello! Please answer the door, or I'll get in trouble!" She yelled as her knuckles rapped on his door. She waited a few seconds before pounding harder on the door as her frustration grew.

As fun as it would have been to let things escalate, Minato didn't put the gun-wielding brunette above shooting the lock and forcing her way in. He called out to her and waved her over.

"Good morning. Did you sleep okay?" Yukari asked in an almost obnoxiously cheerful manner.

To her credit she looked a lot more sociable than she did the other day, and the missing leg holster was a welcome addition.

He blinked out the last bit of grogginess with the new found energy from his runners high before responding to her.

"Not really," he said.

She seemed unfazed by his answer as she continued. "Mitsuru-senpai asked me to take you to school. It's getting late so...Are you ready to go?"

He gave her a nod and motioned to the staircase.

* * *

Yukari led them to the train station and picked out two seats for them on the rail car. Minato sat down with his back straight, his headphones at full blast and eyes closed. Had anyone walked by it would have seemed like the two of them were complete strangers. She was commuting with a brick wall.

Mitsuru had made it **very** clear that it was imperative for their newest guest to join SEES. So much so that she had ordered her to tag along as his campus tour guide for the day. "A chance to change his first impression", she'd called it. Easier said than done.

She fumbled around for conversation topics before blurting out the first one that came to mind.

"So, you ever been to Iwatodai before?" She asked.

Minato lowered the volume on his MP3 player before turning lazily to face her.

"I was born here," he said dryly.

She bit her lip as she mulled over other conversation starters. She looked up to find the teen's apathetic gaze concentrated on her.

"Is there a shooting club on campus?" He asked nonchalantly.

Yukari let out a sigh. That subject wasn't going away anytime soon.

"The closest thing we have to that is the archery club. Look, I promise **it** wasn't real," she assured.

Minato narrowed his eyes and examined her expression much like Officer Kurosawa did during her first trip to the police station. Eventually his gaze softened back to it's usual detached state.

He nodded to her. "Okay."

Yukari felt a weight leave her chest. She was finally making _some_ progress at socializing with him. Or at least she thought she did. His deadpan expression didn't give her much to work with.

* * *

The morning flew by pretty quickly for Minato, after getting warned by Yukari not to go around telling people of his gun filled night, he stopped by the faculty office to finish the enrollment process before going to the mandatory assembly. He managed to daydream through most of it, only getting knocked out of his trance when a student asked him some questions about Yukari. He just shrugged to all the rumors and gossip, outside of her name he really didn't know much about her.

A loud bell signaled the end of the class and left Minato pondering about what he should do with his spare time. The area was more or less the same as the last time he had visited. It might be worth while to check out the commercial districts to see if any new shops had opened up...

He packed up his spirals and made his way out the door before getting cut off by a student with a goatee.

The cap wearing student walked up to him with a jovial smile and a lazy wave.

"Sup' dude? How's it goin'?" He asked.

The student's smile was infectious and Minato could feel his usually inscrutable expression giving way to a more mild one.

 _Forget the squeak toys, they should use this guy for the Honor Guard bearing tests._

The way he greeted him made him feel like he might have know him. Maybe from a branch meet and greet? It seemed unlikely. The teen's lazy mannerisms were unbecoming for a normal cadet. He examined him more closely. He was about the same height as him with a light tan, pretty average as far as people went. His goatee and baseball cap where the only things that made him stand out.

He gave up on trying to guess and decided to ask him directly.

"Who are you?"

The capped teen's expression didn't falter, if anything the smile he wore grew even more contagious.

"Me? I'm Junpei Iori. Nice to meet ya," he said as he stuck his hand out for a high five.

Minato settled for a short bow and left him hanging. "Minato Arisato."

Junpei chatted with him for a bit, exchanging stories of their many transfers and relocation's. It was unusual for Minato to find someone this easy to talk to. The constant moving from his foster's deployments usually left him with little time to make strong bonds with people. Hell, the deepest friendships he held were with his old Battery back in Osaka, and they rarely spoke outside of squad exercises.

Junpei's concentration broke when he noticed a distinct pink cardigan walk in the room. His face lit up as he waved the girl over.

* * *

"Hey, it's Yuka-tan! I didn't think we'd be in the same class again," Junpei said as he propped himself on one of the desks.

Yukari let out an annoyed sigh. "Back at it again, huh? I swear, you'll talk to anyone if they listen. Did you ever think you might be bothering someone?"

He scratched his short hair. "What? But I just bein' friendly."

Minato just stood there, not really giving her anything to work with.

She shrugged.

"If you say so. Anyway, it looks like we're in the same homeroom…" She trailed as she made eye contact with Minato.

Her gaze stayed on him as if she was expecting him to weigh in.

Minato mulled it over for a few seconds before answering her.

"Same dorm, same class. Makes sense." He suggested.

Yukari taped her chin as she gave it some thought. She wouldn't put it past Mitsuru to set this up.

"That might be it…" She mused.

Junpei did not appreciate getting left out of the spotlight.

"Um, hello? Are you forgetting that I'm in this class too?" He whined.

A grin formed on his lips as he leaned in closer. "By the way, I heard that you two came to school together this morning. What's up with that? C'mon, gimme the dirt!"

Yukari recoiled at the implication. "Wh-What are you talking about!? We live in the same dorm, there's nothing going on. Ugh, why are people even talking about it!? Now you have me worried..."

She walked up to Minato and spoke to him in a hushed tone, "Hey...You didn't say anything to anyone about 'you know what' did you?"

"Nope," he deadpanned.

Yukari let out a soft sigh. "Okay, good. Seriously... **Don't** say anything about last night, alright!?"

Minato's impassive face crumbled as he slumped to his chair trying to hold back his laughter.

 _What's with him? Was it someth-_

Her eyes widened as the heads of their classmates snapped 180 degrees to look at her. Junpei looked like was about to get an aneurysm as he stared at her.

She blinked before stammering at Junpei, "Wh-what?"

Junpei braced a hand on his desk to regain his composure.

"La-Last night…?" He asked in a shaky voice.

Realization struck her like it struck Siddhartha. Her cheeks started to grow red as Minato's muted laughter exacerbated her embarrassment.

She countered Junpei's inference as best she could,"W-Wait a minute! Don't get the wrong idea! Listen! I just met him yesterday and there's absolutely nothing between us! Geez..."

Yukari looked at Minato. "Go on, tell them!"

The teen waved away the onlookers. "She's not my type."

Not what she was expecting, but it got everyone to go back to their business.

Yukari glared at Junpei. "I've gotta go. I've got something to take care of for the archery team. But, you better not start any rumors!"

* * *

With that, Yukari huffed her way out the door eager to leave before she said something else that got the rumor mill going.

Junpei waved her off. "Ah, who cares? No one takes rumors seriously, anyway."

He adjusted his cap and looked at Minato. "She's so paranoid…But hey! It's your first day here, and people are already talkin' about you! Believe it or not, she's actually pretty popular. Buuuuuut... I can see why you wouldn't like her. Don't worry man, there's plenty of other cuties here."

Truth be told Minato thought his dorm-mate was pretty damn attractive, but what good would vocalizing that opinion do? It felt creepy or at the very least impolite to talk about a classmate that way. He was from an all-male academy. Talking about girls, about dating, it was all alien for him. Deeply unknown territory. He didn't want to deal with the headaches of learning it all through trial and error.

"I'd rather avoid the drama," he said.

Junpei chuckled. "The drama's what makes life fun!"

Minato shook his head and pointed to the clock.

"We should get going," he said.

Junpei stretched his arms out and straightened his uniform. "Yeah, yeah, I'll show you all the cool spots in town don't worry. Heheh, this is gonna be a fun year. I can feel it!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Last edited 05/24/18**

* * *

 **The Fool**

Minato toured the once familiar city with his newfound acquaintance. Much of the old commercial area had been bulldozed away to make room for high-density housing. The market district had been replaced with high rise apartments completely plastered in real estate banners, each one under cutting the other's prices.

Fortunately for spendthrifts in town, a mall had been erected with the help of generous Kirijo investments. It was his first in depth look at the new Iwatodai. Several franchises set up shop in the lower floors selling the latest and greatest products from around the country. Service provider and phone repair kiosks littered the area surrounding the large central fountain. Junpei expertly pushed past the salesmen and showed him the go-to places to eat that had been deemed "acceptable" by the local food critic.

He listened inattentively as Junpei sang praises for each restaurant that they passed by. Junpei swore up and down that each place was well worth the money, but he didn't know if he'd ever bother visiting them. Money was far too precious a resource to splurge on food with. He had his meal plan from school, afterall.

Junpei lightly jabbed his shoulder. "Quit being so stingy man, you gotta live it up every now and then!"

He crossed his arms and scowled. "I'll pass."

Junpei chuckled. "Suit yourself man. More flavor for the Junpeinator!"

Minato couldn't help but stare blankly at the teen.

 _The Junpeinator?_

His capped acquaintance was truly a unique specimen.

Junpei grinned as he pointed to a far off building. "See that? That's the arcade. It's so cheap even a scrooge like you can afford to crack a smile."

Minato's scowl returned. His fosters provided him with 5,000 yen. That was all he had as far as leisure funds went, and he wasn't keen on spending it all during the first week.

A loud beep went off. Junpei re-flexibly looked down at his watch. Some of the color had drained from his face. "Hey, uh, sorry to be a spoil sport but I gotta get going. We're going to the arcade tomorrow for sure! See-ya man!"

He nodded and waved him off. "See ya."

* * *

Through some miracle of biology Minato's well worn legs managed to get him back to the dorm safe and sound. He pushed the heavy oak door open and let out a tired sigh.

He turned his head towards the lobby and froze at the sight before him. Mitsuru was lounging on the lobby's brown leather couch with some documents in hand.

"Everything go smoothly on your first day?" She asked as she lowered the various leather-bound packets.

Minato snapped into the most rigid posture he could muster before offering the aristocrat a deep bow.

"Of course, Kirijo-sama," he said.

Mitsuru smiled softly before waving dismissively. "While I appreciate formality, you don't have to take it this far. 'Senpai' is fine."

She set the paperwork down on the nearby coffee table and motioned to the armchair adjacent to her.

As much as Minato would have liked to collapse on his mattress after the morning run with his senpai and lengthy school day, he knew better than to brush off the heiress to the Kirijo Group. This scholarship was his golden ticket to a life of financial comfort. He accepted her invitation and sat down. He sank into the luxuriously soft chair before straightening his back and neatly folding his hands.

He gave her a nod in affirmative before speaking to her, "Everything went smoothly."

Mitsuru gave him a satisfied look.

"Good. I had hoped Gekkoukan would be similar enough to your old academy," she mused.

"It's perfect. I'll be sure to live up to your expectations," he said.

"That's good to hear. I trust that you'll be exemplary student. And an exemplary student understands the importance of getting a good night's sleep," she nagged.

 _Christ. I didn't know I'd be getting babysat by the heiress to the Kirijo Group._

"It's 7pm," he deadpanned.

"Your circadian cycle doesn't know the difference. You slept late last night, and you'll do the same until you manually adjust it to something more sensible," she pointed out.

He eventually conceded and rose from the armchair.

"Understood."

* * *

Akihiko slung his coat over his shoulder and tried his best to look nonchalant in front of Mitsuru.

"I'm going out for a bit," he announced.

Mitsuru looked up from her book and gave him an inquisitive look.

"...Hm?" She hummed.

He knew he'd have to give her a valid reason for any late night excursions. After Shinji left, Mitsuru had been paranoid about preserving what little manpower they had.

He crossed his arms and looked at her confidently.

"Didn't you see the newspaper? There's a lot going on," he said.

His gamble had paid off. Mitsuru's commanding demeanor was wearing off quickly as her eyes darted to the floor.

She pursed her lips before sighing. "...I know. People who had no problems before are suddenly developing acute cases of apathy syndrome. I've seen it in the news quite often lately. They say it's due to stress, but…"

Akihiko scoffed at the media's explanation and looked the aristocrat in the eyes. "Yeah right, It has to be **them**. Otherwise it's not worth my time…"

She rolled her eyes at his eagerness to enter the fray. "You have a one track mind... Will you be okay on your own? The chairman will be here for the next few days, but after that, I can…"

He shook his head. "Don't worry, I'm just getting a little practice."

Akihiko left the dorm doing some light shadow boxing on his way out. As soon as he shut the door, he let out a huge breath and wiped the sweat that had been forming on his brow.

Mitsuru let out an annoyed sigh, oblivious to the boxer's bluff.

"This isn't a game Akihiko…" She muttered quietly.

* * *

Minato bobbed his head softly to the beat of his headphones as he watched his capped acquaintance give the crane game another go. Despite his own lack of cash, there was still plenty of entertainment to be had at Junpei's expense.

"Down 2,200 now?" He chided.

Junpei glared at him before sliding another coin into the machine. "2,100, for your information."

He rolled his eyes. "It's just a doll."

The crane took hold of the Jack Frost plushy with its flimsy prongs and nudged it a centimeter closer to the chute before sliding off. Junpei shook the machine as a few choice words slipped under his breath. He dug around for another coin before turning around to face him.

"I have it on good authority that this 'doll' is hot with the ladies right now," Junpei stated matter-of-factly.

He cocked an eyebrow. "You got a girl?"

Junpei smiled sheepishly before averting his eyes. "Yea-Well, not yet. But when I get the right timing... Look man, it's just, y'know, good to have it on hand."

"If you say so." He hummed.

"Some of us weren't lucky enough to get girlfriend on the first day back, Mr. Casanova," Junpei said as he turned his attention away from the machine.

He raised his eyebrows. "I have a girlfriend?."

"Uh, Yukari? You guys walk to school together like everyday! You live together! She pulls you aside to whisper sweet nothings all the time!" Junpei pointed out.

"I don't even know her last name," he deadpanned.

His acquaintance shrugged. "I dunno man, you guys were lookin' at each other all weird and talkin' about 'last night'..."

Minato cringed at the memory and shook his head.

"I'm single," he clarified.

Junpei grinned before mimicking him, "If you say so..."

"Dumbass," he muttered as he raised the volume of his MP3 player.

* * *

"How's our latest unofficial member?"

Yukari suppressed an eye roll as she put her magazine down.

"Alright? I dunno. He keeps to himself as far as I can tell," she said.

Ikutsuki shook his head in disapproval as he made himself comfortable on the lobby's armchair.

"You should be more proactive in spending time with him. Why, I heard that Akihiko-kun has taken him along for his morning exercises," he informed.

"So, we've got it handled then? Why do I still have to babysit him?" She asked.

"You know all too well how difficult it is to get candidates with a _chance_ of having the potential. We need to get him on-board at all costs," he said.

She knew her cooperation wasn't optional. Not if she ever planned on getting closer to the Kirijo Group.

"...Fine. But don't blame me if he decides t-"

A loud creak interrupted her as their newest dorm-mate walked into the lobby.

"Oh, he's back," she noted.

She gestured to the doorway as Minato stepped inside. He quickly snapped into his erect posture and darted his eyes to them.

"Evening," he greeted dryly.

Ikutsuki stood from his chair and eyed the teen scrupulously. "So this is our new guest…"

He walked up to him and gave a small bow that Minato returned.

"Good evening Arisato-kun. My name is Shuji Ikutsuki. I'm the Chairman of the Board for your school. 'Ikutsuki'... Hard to say, isn't it? That's why I don't like introducing myself. Even I get tongue-tied sometimes..." He rambled.

Minato stared at him blankly before looking at her for help. She offered him an apologetic shrug and tucked her head in her magazine.

"Please have a seat," Ikutsuki offered as he motioned to the lounge.

The teen sat down next to her and murmured another quick "evening".

Ikutsuki crossed his legs before addressing Minato, "I apologize about the confusion regarding your accommodations. However, it may take a while longer before you receive the proper assignment. Is there anything you'd like to ask?"

"...Not in particular," he said.

Ikutsuki seemed a bit surprised by his lack of curiosity, but he just smiled at him and adjusted his glasses.

"... Then I hope you have a successful school year. Now if you'll excuse me..." He stood up and started walking towards the staircase before turning back to address them, "You must be tired from all the excitement. You should go to bed early. As they say, 'The early bird catches the bookworm!'...Please forgive the pun. "

Ikutsuki let out a small chuckle and walked away.

She let out a groan.

"Ugh...You'll get used to his lame jokes," she said.

He shook his head. "One more reason to look forward to moving out."

She froze. That was by far the worst thing he could've said right now. Everyone was already on her ass for not going above and beyond to make a good impression for the teen. If they found out that he wanted out of SEES before even being informed of it's existence, they'd have her head.

"C'mon, living here isn't THAT bad," she said.

"It has its moments," he conceded.

"It's close to the monorail..." she pointed out.

The teen looked deep in thought before finally nodding. "It's very close."

He stood up and left without a word. She let out a sigh and congratulated herself on the small victory. She'd managed to win him over with the power of convenient commuting.

* * *

Minato felt wind blowing through his hair as he flew through a dark chasm. The sound of gears turning and a faint light were the only things he could make out during his spiraling descent. The light grew brighter and brighter, revealing checkered tiles and a doorway in the distance. The brightness and motion became overwhelming and Minato passed out from the strain on his senses.

* * *

He woke up in a soft chair. His bleary eyes cracked open to reveal that he was surrounded by blue velvet light and fabrics.

"Welcome to the velvet room my dear young man." A man in an archaic tuxedo greeted him. His receding hair, long nose, and hunchback only added to the ancient look.

He gave Minato a wide smile. 'My name is Igor...I am delighted to make your acquaintance."

The old man motioned to his left. "This is Elizabeth. She's a resident here, like myself."

A young woman stood beside Igor. She was dressed in a velvet bellhop uniform complete with a small blue cap and matching gloves. She gave him an excited smile before introducing herself.

"Pleased to meet you." She bent her waist for deep bow that normally wouldn't be afforded to someone his age.

Igor clasped his hands and looked at him intently. "This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter… It's been years since we had a guest."

Igor snapped his fingers and made a familiar red contract appear on the velvet covered table that separated them. He waved his hand and the contract opened up to where he had signed his name.

"Only those who have signed the contract can enter this place... Henceforth, you shall be welcome here in the velvet room. You are destined to hone your unique ability, and you will require my help to do so. I only ask one thing in return... that you abide by the contract, and assume responsibility for the choices that you make," Igor explained didactically.

Minato didn't know what the hell was going on, why he was being offered helped by the hunchback of Notre Dame and his assistant, why they were discussing the ghost child's contract or why they were in an infinitely looping elevator. All he knew was that it just felt _right_. He gave Igor a curt nod.

"I understand," he affirmed.

Igor seemed pleased by his answer.

"Hold onto this." He snapped his fingers and a velvet key descended from the ether and onto Minato's lap.

Igor's smile grew wider as he pocketed the key.

Igor grinned and snapped his fingers. "Til we meet again…"

Minato began to feel unbearably drowsy. He tried fighting the feeling but eventually caved in as his heavy eyelids closed.

* * *

Minato awoke to the feeling of slick sheets on his skin and a horrible dryness in his throat.

 _Today's gonna be one of those days_.

He stuffed the sweaty sheets in his laundry basket before grabbing the spares and redoing the perfect 45 degree angle hospital folds that had been expected of him for the past decade. He was halfway done with the procedure before he realized what he was doing. There was no inspector coming by to bounce a coin off his sheets. He could leave them crumbled on the floor and absolutely no one would care.

Minato did just that.

* * *

"C'mon, you never done preacher curls before?!" Akihiko yelled as Minato struggled to finish his third set.

Minato didn't want to be working out right now. He wanted to go downstairs and get some rice & eggs from the superbly stocked kitchen. Unfortunately for him a particularly energetic boxer liked to make his pre-workout shakes around the same time he was used to having breakfast. Akihiko volunteered him to be his spotter the second he saw him. Then he nagged at him until he started lifting. Then he added more weight and demanded more reps... He needed to learn how to say no to his senior.

Minato gritted his teeth as he forced his tired arms to finish the set. "Nope. Just cardio."

Akihiko cringed at the thought of only working on cardio. He reached into his closet and pulled out what looked like an industrial container of pre-workout powder.

"You've probably been getting the wrong macro's too. Use this stuff everyday. I get tons of powder from our sponsors so I don't mind sharing," Akihiko explained.

Minato took the tub of powder and gingerly placed the dumbbell back on its makeshift rack. He stared at the floor, deep in thought. Akihiko's generosity and genuine interest in his well being were surprising. He'd already forgotten his last name and slightly loathed him for his hellish workouts, but he sensed that Akihiko just wanted to help others. Even if it meant giving them sore arms for the next 4 days.

* * *

Ikutsuki finished reviewing the biometrics from last night before checking in on the teens manning the console.

"...How is he?" He asked.

"...The same as last night," Mitsuru informed as she rubbed her temples, clearly frustrated by the lack of progress.

The researcher moved away from the console and sat on one of the cushions nearby.

"Hmm... Very interesting. Even those who have the potential tend to be unstable first...Memory loss...disorientation…But, this subject is rather unique. He hasn't exhibited any of the common symptoms," he mused.

Yukari didn't seem too keen on the title of "subject".

"But...we're treating him like a guinea pig," she objected.

Ikutsuki suppressed his frown and spoke to her calmly, "I understand your concern, but it's imperative that we recruit new members. I heard he's your classmate...Wouldn't you be more comfortable working with someone from the same grade?"

"Yeah, I guess. But, still…" She began to counter.

A loud beep cut her off. They snapped their heads towards the monitors as Mitsuru quickly activated the radio built into the console.

Her voice took on an authoritative tone as she answered the beep. "Command Room...Is that you Akihiko?"

Akihiko's voice filled the room. "You're not gonna believe this…! This thing is huge! Unfortunately I don't have time to talk... It's chasing me… I wanted to let you guys know. I'm almost there."

The whole room tensed. Thoughts of an enormous shadow being minutes away completely overshadowed their previous activities.

Yukari was the first to break the silence. "Does that mean... he's bringing that thing here!?"

Mitsuru steeled herself and stood up, taking control of the situation.

"Mr. Chairman! Let's suspend our observations for now. We'll prepare for battle!" She commanded.

Ikutsuki nodded nervously. "...R-Right! Be careful!"

* * *

Akihiko burst through the lobby doors and slammed them shut, sparing a few seconds to lock the deadbolt in place. He collapsed to the floor as the footsteps of the others drew closer.

"Akihiko!" Mitsuru yelled.

Yukari ran up to him and placed a hand on his back. "Senpai!?"

He looked up at the trio in front of him brushed off their concern.

"I'm alright. Get ready to be surprised...It'll be here any second." His voice was barely maintaining its usual confident tone.

Mitsuru nodded. "Mr. Chairman, get to the command room. You led it to us, Akihiko, so I'm afraid you'll have to fight."

Akihiko opened his mouth to protest. "Like I had a-"

Mitsuru cut him off and looked at Yukari.

"Get upstairs and wake him up! Take the back door exit and get out of here while we deal with the threat!" She ordered.

Yukari nodded and sprinted to the stairs.

* * *

Minato stirred from his sleep as he heard loud banging on his door.

"Wake up!" The panic in Yukari's voice made him shoot up from his bed.

He started slipping into his clothes in record time as he brainstormed for possible explanations.

"Sorry, I'm coming in!" She yelled.

His door unlocked as he started fastening his belt.

"I don't have time to explain. We need to get out of here, now!" She barked as she grabbed his arm and dragged him to the hallway.

Minato opened his mouth to speak but before he knew it he was struggling to keep up with the brunette's pace as she sprinted down the stairs with him in tow. The lobby was dark, same as when he first came to the dorm. Only a few rays of moonlight seeped in through the closed blinds. Yukari expertly avoided all the furniture and guided them to the kitchen in record time. A small unlit 'Exit' sign hung over a hefty steel door.

Yukari turned to Minato and tried to fill him in on the situation. "Alright, we should be safe for now-"

Her radio started beeping loudly as Mitsuru's voice filled the room. "Takeba, do you read me?"

Yukari picked up the radio and responded, "Y-Yes! We read you!"

"Be careful! There's more than one enemy! The one we're fighting isn't the one Akihiko saw!" The radio crackled as Mitsuru's voice faded.

Yukari's pupil's dilated as new waves of adrenaline flooded her. Her heart began to beat dangerously fast as every muscle in her body prepared to fight or run for dear life.

"Y-You said what!?" She asked dumbfoundedly.

 ***BANG***

A series of loud bangs went off as an unknown entity pounded at the back door. It's heavy steel frame bulged outward as something massive tried to force its way in.

She jumped at the sounds, "L-Let's pull back!"

* * *

Yukari locked the steel reinforced door the second Minato got on the rooftop. She let out a deep sigh of relief, "I think we're okay for now…"

She wiped away the beads of sweat that coated her brow before reclining against the door. Now it was just a matter of time until her senpai took down the shadows and did a sweep of the dorms. Ikutsuki would take the night watch and everyone could sleep in peace.

Minato was staring at her. That was fair given that she'd just dragged him up four flights of stairs in the middle of the night. She might as explain what was going on now that they had a breather.

"You're probably wondering what's going on..." She said with exhaustion clear in her voice.

He nodded.

 ***THUD***

A powerful impact reverberated across the dorm. Yukari jumped away from the door with a panicked yelp and reached for her thigh holster. She snapped her head towards Minato.

"Are you armed!?" She asked.

He shook his head. It appeared that she would be fighting her first shadow all by herself.

 ***THUD***

The building shook again as the loud noise rang out, closer this time. Yukari ripped her evoker free and clutched it close to her chest as her eyes darted across the rooftops.

"You **definitely** heard that, right?"

"It didn't come from the staircase…" He noted.

Multiple black hands grabbed the ledge of the building and hoisted up a massive creature. Its body was a writhing mass of spindly arms. The closest thing it had to a face was a blue mask being held up by one of the arms. The beast spotted the teens and charged at them, it's once empty hands now wielding sharp blades.

* * *

 _What the hell?_

Minato starred at the abomination in awe. He was almost certain this was all an elaborate dream...

The creature raised an arm and lazily flicked it towards them. Bright flames engulfed their escape route and licked away at the building.

 _Definitely not a dream. This fire is **way** too hot for this to be my imagination._

Yukari stepped in front of him, gun in hand.

 _I KNEW IT WAS REAL!_

Yukari's firing stance showed inexperience, but the mere fact that she was armed was enough to steel his nerves. A 9mm could ward off a mountain lion, so whatever she was packing should be enough to handle this limb monster.

The monster inched towards them with an almost arrogant gait. Yukari placed the gun against her forehead and started shaking. Her finger was timidly squeezing and releasing the trigger.

Without even thinking Minato grabbed the barrel and wrestled it away from her face.

"What the hell are you doing!?" He yelled as he struggled with her for control of the pistol.

"It's not what you-" Yukari was interrupted by a powerful slap from the creature that knocked both of them to the cement floor.

Yukari feebly attempted to get back on her feet as the monster drew closer. Her scraped calves stained the ground red as she scooted away from the shadow. The black creature's movements became even slower and more deliberate, as if it knew that it could take it's time.

Minato could feel blood beginning to drip down his forearms. His elbows had been all but peeled by the rough cement floor. The abrasions stung like hell. He tried to ignore the pain and gripped the handgun in his hands tightly as he stood up. Cadet training allowed him the rare privilege of shooting training rifles every now and then. He was comfortable with long guns, but the pistol in his hands was completely foreign. He didn't even know how to load it. Still, it was his only way out of this mess.

He took a breath and tried following the process that had been drilled into him.

 _First find a steady position._

Minato gave his knees a slight bend and leaned forward.

 _Take careful aim._

He lined up the sights of the foreign gun as best he could.

 _Control your breathing._

He started emptying his lungs.

 _Safety off._

There was no safety present.

 _Squeeze the trigger._

*click*

 _Shit._

His initial fear rushed back as he realized that the hunk of metal in his hands was just an elaborate knock-off. No weapons, no backup, and a massive arm-demon with eight short swords. His eyes darted to the fire escape and then back to the creature.

The Shadow turned to face him. It tilted it's mask in confusion before catching on to his intentions. It raised an arm and encircled them in flames.

 _So much for that..._

He was fucked. No other words could better describe his situation. He wanted to cry. He wanted to run away. He wanted to break that stupid fucking mask staring at him. But he just stood there, face blank, waiting to die.

There was movement in the corner of his eye. He forced his head to turn towards the source The child from his first night at the dorm had appeared. The kid smiled silently and bowed. He made a gun with his fingers and pretended to shoot himself in the head.

 _Yukari was doing that too..._

He examined his weapon more closely.

 _No magazine, no safety, it doesn't even have a real slide…_

He was out of options anyways, might as well indulge the kid and pretend to blow his brains out before getting eviscerated. Instinct took over as he pressed the cold steel against his temple and softly whispered, "Per...so...na."

His head recoiled back as the sound of glass shattering filled his head. A great sense of relief flooded his body akin to popping a blister. A large humanoid figure appeared above him. Large portions of its body appeared mechanical. A massive lyre was strung across its back.

" _Thou art I, and I am thou. From the sea of thy soul I cometh."_ Spoke a regal voice.

" _I am Orpheus, the stalwart harbinger of thy victory."_ The musician gave a short bow to him after introducing himself.

"Kill this...thing," He commanded.

Orpheus readied his lyre and prepared to charge the monster.

 _Okay, scratch what I said. There's no way this isn't a drea-_

He suddenly collapsed to his knees and clutched his head in pain as he felt a powerful pressure start to build. He felt like his skull was gonna split open at any moment, and Orpheus was not spared of the sensation. The musician was now clutching his abdomen as something desperately tried to push it's way out of his body. The apparition screamed as he split apart transversely and a trench coat clad figure emerged from the gore.

It gave a robotic shriek as it unsheathed a large sword and started hacking away mercilessly at the monster. The Shadow curled into a ball and jutted out it's swords in porcupine-like fashion as it tried to shield itself from the onslaught. The new apparition casually slapped the blades away with a gloved hand and lobbed off it's arms with sadistic laughter.

The creature tried crawling away, but the strange figure pinned it in place with his blade and started pulling it apart with its bare hands. It squealed as its limbs were haphazardly torn off and tossed from the ceiling. It swatted uselessly at the hulking figure above it before slowly going limp.

Minato spotted Yukari looking at the sight in awe. Her eyes were trained on his sword wielding persona. She looked at him in confusion as she motioned to the macabre scene. He shrugged and forced himself back up.

The trench coat wearing humanoid vanished as soon it crushed the last limb of the beast. The fires subsided and left large scorch marks on the rooftop. All the traces of blood and viscera from the massacre that had occurred were gone.

Yukari stood up shakily. "Is it over...?" She asked.

He turned to her and gave her a thumbs up before collapsing.


	4. Chapter 4

**Last Edited: 06/19/18** Reworked.

* * *

 **SEES**

Minato began to stir. His lengthy velvet filled dream had finally ended and his body started sending him sensory information again. A sterile scent filled his nostrils and bright light blinded him. His back ached terribly and his muscles felt sluggish and atrophied. He pulled his left arm free of the linen sheet that covered it and rubbed his eyes.

"You're awake…!" Exclaimed a familiar voice.

Yukari was sitting on a stool nearby. Her expression conveyed both concern and relief. He wasn't sure what the hell he was doing in bed or why his dorm-mate had been watching him sleep for god knows how long. It didn't help that the last memory he had of the girl was of her trying to blow her brains out.

 _What happened last night...?_

"Um, how do you feel?" She asked as she wrung her hands.

"Restless," he answered honestly.

He scanned the room. A pitcher of water and some generic flowers sat on the nightstand next to his bed. Some stainless steel equipment was in a nearby cupboard along with spare sheets. The white walls that adorned the room where one hell of a clue as to where he might be, but it was always best to ask directly.

"Where am I?" He asked her.

Yukari placed a hand on his forehead to check his temperature before resting her arms on the railing of his bed.

"Thank goodness you finally came to…" She whispered. Her sounds of concern now washed away.

She gave him a frustrated sigh. "How much sleep do you need!? It's been a whole week!"

Minato raised an eyebrow at her sudden mood swing.

 _The fuck did I do? Wait... Did she say **a week**!?_

She exhaled and looked at him with her soft brown eyes. "...I was so worried about you…"

 _Seriously?_

He was losing track of the mood swings the girl had gone through.

Yukari finally remembered his original question.

"...Oh yeah, this is Tatsumi Memorial Hospital. It's just a short walk from the station," she informed.

"The doctor couldn't find anything wrong with you, and I took care of your cuts on the rooftop. He ran some tests but said you were just exhausted... But you kept sleeping and sleeping," she said.

"You know how worried I was?" She suddenly snapped.

Minato would've face palmed if he didn't have an IV stuck in his arm.

Yukari seemed to catch on to her mood swings and looked at him sheepishly.

"Um...I'm sorry I couldn't do anything… Even though I was supposed to protect you I..." She apologized.

She made eye contact. "But your power...It was amazing."

Minato tried to think back to that night. Memories of fire and limbs hazily formed in his head. Had he passed out from smoke inhalation during a fire? That wouldn't explain his "power" that she was apparently enthralled by. The more he tried to put two and two together the less everything made sense.

"My memory's a little hazy right now. What exactly are you talking about?" He asked.

She tilted her head. "...How much do you remember about what happened at the dorm?"

"I recall there being a lot of fire. It was dark out. Umm... something about you trying to shoot yourself? That's about all I got," he said.

She looked at him in surprise. "You don't remember the monster that you fought off?"

Now that she mentioned it, he did remember a monster of some kind. A spider-esque arm monster... He focused as best he could on that memory. He'd been surrounded by fire, that much was certain. Yukari tried to shoot herself, but he wrestled the pistol away from her... and shot himself? Vivid imagery of him pressing the barrel of the gun against his temple flooded him.

"Did I try to shoot myself...?" He whispered.

"That 'gun' you keep thinking about? It's not a firearm. It's a tool meant to allow its user to wield their persona power. That's the power that you used to kill the Shadow," she explained.

"So, all that weird shit I dreamed of is real... You seem awfully well informed on this. What did I fight that hospitalized me for a week?" He prodded.

"...You mean the Shadow? They're these creatures that have been attacking people in town. Our senpai and I have been fighting them for months now," she said.

"We'll explain everything later. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before…" She added.

Minato didn't care too much about the secrecy, his old lifestyle literally revolved around hierarchical secret keeping. What bothered him is that she just confirmed that spindly armed monsters that only come out at night are real. She sounded absolutely batshit insane and it infuriated him that he couldn't reasonably deny any of her claims. He most certainly remember a monster. He remembered that Yukari got hurt by it, and the bandages on her legs reflected that. All the evidence pointed out to these "shadow" arm blobs being real.

She got up from the stool and clasped her hands behind her back nervously before speaking, "...I um...I just wanted to say that...I'm sorta like you."

Minato allowed some surprise to show through his detached veneer. "You're a cadet?"

She shook her head. "No, no, not like that...My dad died in an accident when I was little...And my mom and I aren't exactly on good terms...You're all alone too right?" She asked cautiously.

That hit close to home. Back in the academy he had no real friends. Just acquaintances that he spoke to if grouped with them for projects. Faces that smiled at him when they needed a favor and then vanished without a trace. Even his foster parents worked all day and went out at night, enjoying what little youth they had left. He was absolutely alone, but he had to save face. He didn't want to have anyone thinking that he was a loner.

"My parents are dead, if that's what you're referring to," he said.

She nodded. "To be honest, I already know about your past… But it didn't seem fair, so I wanted you to know about mine…"

"It was back in 99'...There was a big explosion in the area. Supposedly, my dad died in the blast, but nobody really knows what happened… He worked in a lab run by the Kirijo Group. So, I'm hoping that if I stick around long enough, I'll find out what happened," she explained.

He nodded in understanding. His biological parents had been killed in a car crash. The official investigation ruled it as a lane switch gone wrong. He wanted to believe the official story. Just a simple collision with a speeder while merging. Both parties died and he was the sole survivor. But he didn't remember any other cars on the bridge that night... As time went by his mind concocted darker alternatives. Maybe his father was driving drunk? Maybe his parents were in an argument and got distracted? He couldn't even begin to imagine what twisted answers Yukari had come up with after all these years of unanswered questions.

She continued, "That's why I'm going to Gekkoukan High, and why I was there when this happened to you...Of course, I panicked and wasn't much help...It was my first time fighting them too..."

She rubbed her arm in embarrassment. "I'm sorry...You wouldn't have to go through all this if I wasn't such a coward…"

Minato raised a hand to interrupt her.

"I can't even remember what I went through," he reminded.

She laughed and shook her head. "Guess there's no point in feeling ashamed, then?"

"Guess not," he deadpanned.

She sighed. "And here I am telling you all this the minute you wake up. While I was waiting, I thought to myself… 'I've been hiding so many things from him...As soon as he wakes up, I'll tell him the truth.' So, thanks for listening. I've been wanting to share that story with someone for a long time."

"I appreciate the honesty, even if I can't remember half of what you're saying," he said.

"That's not unusual. When you first use your persona you can get messed up in all sorts of ways. I've heard that some people just start freakin' out and bawling on the spot. Memory loss isn't as common, but it can happen," she explained.

"Anyways, I'm not the expert. Once you get discharged, Mitsuru-senpai will probably fill you in on all the details. I should get going, the doctor is probably gonna want to know that you're awake now," she added.

He nodded and watched the brunette as she left his room. He barely spoke to her prior to the conversation they just had, but she still stuck around with him until he woke up. Maybe even left those flowers on the nightstand. People like that were a rarity in his life. He would make an effort treat her with respect.

* * *

Yukari rode the train to school by herself the next day. Her senpai made a habit of leaving the dorm half an hour early, and Minato was still at the hospital to the best of her knowledge. She was surprised with how close their battle with the shadow had brought them. Outside of a basic greeting or nod, he practically ignored her. Now she could hold a conversation. This was big and Mitsuru would surely take notice.

The faint sound of music broke her train of thought. Yukari looked behind her and spotted Minato with his headphones. His uniform was impeccably ironed and his posture was as rigid as ever.

She swallowed her pride and donned her friendly mask. She waved and walked over to him. It was imperative that he joined SEES. If it took a few forced smiles and batted eyes, then so be it.

"Mornin'. You seem to be doin' pretty well," she greeted in a jovial voice.

"I'm alright," he replied dryly.

She ignored his cadence and smiled warmly before leaning in and whispering, "Hey, I'm sorry to drop this one you so suddenly...but Ikutsuki-san wants to talk to you today."

He visibly stiffened at that.

"I'd rather not..." He muttered.

"Look, I know he's not the coolest guy to talk to, but he can best explain what happened the other night. Its his area of expertise. Can you do this for me, please?" Yukari pleaded.

She watched his reaction closely. He looked deep in thought as he weighed out his options.

After a while he gave her a small nod. "Alright."

 _Damn, that was easier than I expected._

She beamed at him. "Thanks! Come to the 4th floor of the dorm after school, okay? Don't forget!"

* * *

"Ah, there you are. I'm glad that you're okay. The reason I asked you here is because I needed to talk to you," Ikutsuki greeted Minato as he walked into the command room with Yukari.

He motioned to one of the cushions, "Please, have a seat."

Minato sat down next to Akihiko. The two of them exchanging quick nods before settling in.

"Okay, let me start off by asking you this..." Ikutsuki paused. "Would you believe me if I said that the day consisted of more than 24 hours?"

"No...?" He answered.

He wasn't really confident with his answer. There might have been some weird math involving leap seconds or some other tiny detail.

"Do you remember the night you came here?" Mitsuru chimed in.

"You had to have noticed the signs. The streetlights went out…Nothing was working…There were coffins everywhere...Didn't it feel like you were in a different time? That's the dark hour-a time period hidden between one day and the next," she explained.

He tried to process the new information. The blood puddles, the coffins, the blackout and deserted streets... He had plenty of answers for each abnormality but none could account for all of them in tandem.

He needed more information. "Explain."

Ikutsuki was more than eager to do so. He turned to Mitsuru for approval. She crossed her legs. The message was understood, he would provide the redacted version of events.

"Due to unknown circumstances an anomalous event has manifested itself everyday for quite some time now. Everyday at midnight time will 'stop' for the vast majority of the population. Coffins will manifest around their bodies to effectively shield them from experiencing the event. I believe you're familiar with them, yes?" Ikutsuki asked.

Minato nodded.

"People like you and I are able to witness the anomalous event. The event lasts for exactly one hour. After that time period, all anomalous events will cease." Ikutsuki explained.

"Hence the 'Dark Hour' designation?" Minato asked.

"Correct. It's an hour devoid of all but the most specialized electronic equipment, leaving the streets naturally pitch black. The creatures that roam around during this anomalous event, the very same that you encountered on the rooftop last week, will engage in predatory behavior during the Dark Hour. They seek out humans outside of their protective coffins. The resulting attack leaves the victim with significant neural damage. The public has designated the condition as 'Apathy Syndrome'."

Minato didn't know what to make of this. Monsters that show up at midnight to give people brain damage? He couldn't deny that there was some basis to their claims. His first day in Iwatodai had clearly displayed all of the mentioned anomalous effects despite him never disclosing his observations to anyone in the dorm.

"This is... plausible," he conceded.

Mitsuru walked over to the computer console in the room and slide a disk into it's optical drive.

"Your skepticism is understandable, Arisato-san. Last week you were forced to fight one of the products of the Dark Hour. We have the surveillance footage of your encounter. I think you'll find this convincing," she said.

The CRT monitor displayed the encounter with surprisingly good clarity. The monster he recalled in his dreams had encircled them in fire and knocked them around like rag dolls. It wasn't until he placed Yukari's pistol against his temple and summoned that machine-like "thing" that the tide of battle turned in their favor. The humanoid ruptured and gave birth to a large coffin clad creature that made short work of the arm-spider. After mouthing something to Yukari, he dropped like a rock and passed out.

His hazy memory more or less remembered this, and that horrified him. All the things that they'd mentioned were true. He had a billionaire and a college educated man calmly confirming that literal monsters came out at night to prey on humans.

He had a very pressing question. "Why haven't you notified the government?"

"Unfortunately, they can't do anything during the Dark Hour…" Mitsuru said dejectedly. "The Kirijo Group has a small army of security forces, but only a handful of them can even experience the Dark Hour."

Ikutsuki interjected, "Though rare, there are those who can function during the Dark Hour. Some may even awaken to a power that enables them to fight the Shadows. That's 'Persona'-the power you used the other night. The shadows can **only** be defeated by persona users. Which means, it's all up to you guys."

"I see," he said as he digested the new information.

Ikutsuki gave him a small smile. "I'm glad you're quick to understand."

Akihiko stood up from his cushion and looked at him with eager eyes. "You understand now, right? People like us, persona users, are the only ones able to exterminate Shadows. Whenever the opportunity arises we go out huntin' for them. Sounds pretty exciting, huh?"

Mitsuru didn't share his enthusiasm. She stood up and scolded the boxer. "Akihiko! Why are you always like that? You just got hurt the other day!"

Ikutsuki tried to diffuse the situation. "Now, now. He does his work well."

They both glared at each other before sitting down.

Ikutsuki adjusted his glasses before continuing, "Long story short, we're the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad-SEES for short. On paper, we're classified as a school club. But in reality, this group is dedicated to defeating the Shadows. Mitsuru is the leader. I'm the club advisor."

Mitsuru turned to him.

"As Ikutsuki explained, a shadow feeds on the minds of it's prey; the victim essentially becomes a living corpse. They're responsible for most of the incidents on the news, if not all of them," she recounted.

She opened a silver briefcase that had been lying on the coffee table. Inside was a red armband and a gun similar to Yukari's.

Mitsuru straightened her posture and put on a friendly demeanor before making her offer. "What Sanada was trying to say is, we want you to join us. We've prepared an evoker for you and we'd like you to lend us your strength."

Silence filled the room as the teen mulled over her offer. They had provided fairly convincing evidence that an immediate threat to national security was festering in the city and only unique people like him were able to stop it. He had somehow managed to exterminate one of the "Shadows" that raided the dorm, but it knocked him out cold for an entire week. Yukari, a seasoned professional, got her ass handed to her within seconds of the encounter. Akihiko, the toughest gym rat he'd ever met, had his arm in a sling after a brief skirmish with a shadow. It would be stupid to stick his neck out given these odds.

After a few minutes the quiet teen spoke, "It's too dangerous."

Mitsuru grimaced. "I understand your hesitation, but manpower is at a premium right now. We went through millions of dossiers and yours was the only viable one. "

 _A dossier... So that's what this scholarship was about._

While he wasn't eager to get sent to the hospital for the sake of philanthropy, nationalism, corporate social responsibility or whatever else motivated the others, he could be motivated by money. Minato contemplated his negotiating position. He already owed Kirijo for his tuition and housing expenses. He was also an immensely rare asset that had warranted premium incentives. If he played his cards right he could retire immediately after high school.

He looked at his peers. "I'd like some privacy with Kirijo-senpai. I need to ask some more questions before deciding."

Mitsuru nodded. Whatever private concerns he had would be addressed. She ushered the others out the door and locked it.

"What did you wish to dis-"

"I want a salary," he stated bluntly.

His statement took the aristocrat by surprise.

"You want me to _pay you_ to help humanity?" She asked.

Her demeanor had changed from caring to down right irritated in a matter of seconds. His deadpan expression was barely keeping itself together as the billionaire stared him down.

"Doctors and police officers take checks. Why should I settle for less?" He argued.

Mitsuru opened her mouth to rebuke him but she stopped herself. He was one of the only persona wielders in the nation. He had a level of control over a powerful combat oriented persona. Despite her moral objections she couldn't deny that just paying him off would yield the best results.

She sighed. "Fine. How much are you looking to get?"

Minato blanked for a second. He had never negotiated a salary before. Any bravado he had withered away. How much was normal for this type of work? How high could he go without insulting her? This was a delicate matter. He would go with the softest high ball he could.

"20,000 yen per night?"

"That can be arranged," she said calmly.

It was a reasonable sum given the inherent danger of fighting shadows. One thing gnawed at her, though. How would she justify paying just one of her team members a salary? Could she just pay all the others the same wage? 60,000 yen per night was feasible enough. She could have it laundered well ahead of time... But then there was always the chance that her other dossier's would yield results. Add another two or three people on payroll. 120,000 yen per night, several nights a week. Christ, she might have to launder over 2,000,000 yen every month. She could file the payments as charitable donations...

Her new recruit was giving her one hell of a headache. The simplest solution would have to be used for now.

"Please keep your salary a secret until further notice. Consider that one of the stipulations of your contract."

Minato nodded. "Will do."

"Good, I believe that covers everything for now. I'll debrief you at a later date. You're dismissed, go get some sleep," she said.

* * *

Today was a terrible day. He'd gotten the scare of his life the night before with that damn pale ghost showing up in his room unannounced to spew some cryptic gibberish at him. It took hours for him to feel comfortable enough to go back to sleep. Before he knew it his favorite protein junkie was knocking at his door, demanding that he join him for some deadlift's. He'd found himself dozing off to sleep during class and on the monorail. Just when he thought he could enjoy a long nap at the dorm his brunette roommate dragged him downstairs with some vague explanation about Akihiko needing them for 'SEES' duties.'

He forced himself to stand at attention and give his senpai a curt nod. Professionalism was no longer optional now that he was officially a Kirijo contractor.

Yukari looked at the boxer expectantly.

"...Okay, he's here now. So, what's this all about?" she asked.

Akihiko gave them a sly grin. "There's someone I wanna introduce."

He turned to the door. "...Hey, hurry up."

A familiar voice replied from behind the dense oak door, "Hold your horses...This is freakin' heavy!"

Yukari's eyes widened at the sight of a familiar cap wearing teen pushing a large luggage bag.

"J-Junpei!? ...What is **HE** doing here!?" She stammered.

"Wait, don't tell me-"

Akihiko grinned. "This is Junpei Iori from class 2-F. He'll be staying here as of today."

Junpei gave them a toothy smile. "Hehe, wazzup?"

She groaned. "He's staying HERE!? You've got to be kidding me!"

Akihiko shrugged. "I bumped into him the other night. He has the potential, but he just awakened to it recently… I told him about us and he agreed to help."

She looked at the goofy teen in disbelief. "You have the potential!? For real!?"

He brushed off her incredulous expression and answered her nonchalantly, "He found me cryin' like a baby at the convenience store, surrounded by a bunch of coffins. I don't remember much, but...maaan that's embarrassing! He said that's, ya know, completely normal... in the beginning. Like, bein' confused and not remembering anything. Did ya guys know that?"

Minato shrugged. "Coffins never gave me trouble."

Junpei scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "H-Hey, maybe you just forgot you did or somethin'. But man, I was shocked to find out about you guys. I had no idea. I'm glad I'm not the only one. It could get kinda lonely, ya know?"

He grinned at the duo. "I bet you're stoked too right!? Havin' me join…"

"Huh? Uh, y-yeah…" Yukari scoffed.

Akihiko cleared his throat, drawing all of their attention to him.

"Well, enough with the introductions. I think we're about ready…" He foreshadowed.

Junpei started bouncing in place. "Ooh, we're gonna go do somethin'? Sweetness!"

"With this many people, we can start exploring **that** place," he said in a tone full of intense mystery.

She rolled her eyes. It was late and she didn't have time to play along with his theatrics.

"You mean Tartarus?" She asked.

Junpei gave her a confused looked. "Tartarus? What's that? Sounds like a toothpaste."

Akihiko scowled at her and tried to build the suspense back up. "We believe we can find the reason for the Dark Hour there."

Yukari thought back to the fight on the rooftop and shuddered. "I hope so…"

He nodded. "The chairman will give us the details tomorrow night, so be ready. In the meantime, you guys are going on a little trial run."

"What'd you have in mind?" Minato asked.

"Nothing too serious. Just a walk around the block during the Dark Hour. If things get heated you can always run back to the dorm," he explained.

Junpei pumped his fist. "Hell yeah! Man, I can't believe we're going monster huntin' tonight!"

"Wait, you're coming with us, right?" Yukari asked.

"Only if something major shows up. Mitsuru will be guiding you via radio. Just listen to her and you'll be fine," Akihiko reassured.

* * *

Minato awkwardly held the gladius he'd been given. When he signed on to SEES, he figured that they'd be equipped by the Kirijo Group. The largest Tech company in Asia and the 3rd wealthiest on earth. The company that was hired to update the main guns on their entire Destroyer fleet. He felt cheated when Akihiko walked down to the lobby with a gym bag and handed out gear at random.

The small collection of blades and other antiquated weaponry he'd brought wasn't even high quality.

He could rub his hand down the edge of his sword without receiving a scratch. Not that sharpening the blade would help him much. The only time he'd ever used a bladed weapon was during a twenty minute bayonet drill a few years back. He glanced over the cheap bronze blade one last time before sheathing it in its nylon scabbard.

Cold air slapped against his face as he sat on the dorm's steps in anticipation for their orders. A strong sense of dread began to build in his gut. His encounter with a lone shadow had resulted in a week long hospital trip. He was now in their domain with half-assed equipment and two strangers. Yukari was jumpy as hell and Junpei wasn't taking any of this seriously. Yet his life depended on their competence. At the very least his fear was keeping him wide awake.

His team shared none of his concern. Yukari was humming lightly while stringing her bow. Junpei had his usual goofy grin on display as he swung around his cheap sword. He plopped down next to the brunette and nudged her.

"Yo, Yuka-tan, how's your aim with that thing." He asked.

"Good enough for regional's. How about you? Got any experience beyond your manga?" She quipped.

He grinned. "Yup! I've been going to the batting cages for years. Ol' Junpei here can swat a coin out of the air."

Yukari looked at him incredulously. "Batting cages? Junpei, I don't think those skills are gonna transfer over to sword fighting."

He shook his head in disapproval. "Pfft, all 'sword fighting' is is just swinging a stick around. I'm practically a pro."

She sighed. "Caveman..."

Junpei's head snapped up."What'd you say?"

As much as she wanted to pick a fight with the buffoon, Yukari knew that escalating things further would only put everyone in danger. They couldn't be at each other's throats if they wanted to survive the night.

"Nothing. How about you Minato? You any good with swords?" She asked, changing the subject.

Minato perked up at his name.

"No," he stated bluntly.

Junpei nearly dropped his katana in shock. "W-Wha? Why'd you pick one then?"

He shrugged. "Didn't know how to use any of the other weapons. This one weighed less so I took it."

Junpei puffed his chest out. "Don't you worry man, I'll-"

 ***BEEP***

Their radios rang out in unison as Mitsuru's voice filled the empty streets.

"Can you all hear me?" She asked.

"Yeah, you're coming in loud and clear," Yukari said.

Another loud beep rang out as Mitsuru spoke, "Excellent. Today we'll be simulating a scouting run. Walk around the block and report any Shadows that you find. Do **not** engage them. If they start to get close, let me know and make your way back to the dorm. Your weapons and evokers are for emergencies only. Understood?"

"Understood," Minato said.

"...Iori?" She asked.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't fight 'em, I got it," Junpei said.

"Good. I look forward to seeing your progress." With that, their radios fell silent again.

Junpei stretched loudly before pointing down the street with his sword.

"Whaddaya you guys waitin' for? Lets go!" He yelled before taking off at a jog.

Yukari rubbed her temples and let out a soft sigh. "It had to be Junpei of all people..."

* * *

The duo found Junpei in an alleyway. A pathetically small black blob was hissing at him and waving its tiny arms menacingly.

"Pfft, these are the Shadows!? Dude, I could stomp this lil' guy right now!" He boasted. The shadow looked thoroughly pissed off at the teens antics. It swatted away the teen's prodding katana and let out varmint-like screeches.

"They get bigger. A lot bigger," Yukari warned. She tightened her grip on her bow. The shadow before her wasn't particularly threatening but she wasn't about to get caught off guard.

Minato moved closer to get a better look. Sure enough, a shadow the size of a pancake was making a racket. He couldn't help but feel bad for the little blob. It really did look like a pair of timberland's could finish it off...

Regardless of how weak it was, Mitsuru had made her orders clear.

"Boss said no fighting, let's call it in and get going," he said.

Junpei scrunched his brow as he looked at him. "Boss? You callin' Mitsuru-senpai that now?"

"She's the boss," he pointed out.

Junpei chuckled. "Yeah, I get that, but 'boss'? You're makin' us sound like henchmen..."

He looked down in embarrassment.

"It was a spur of the moment thing..." He mumbled.

Yukari's hand rested on her radio as she took a step closer to them. "...So should I do it or...?"

Junpei did a double take. "Seriously? For this little grub? Lemme just-"

Minato cut him off as he spoke into his radio,"Kirijo-senpai, we found a small shadow near the bookstore."

"Understood. Do not engage. Continue your patrol," she instructed. With that, the radio went silent.

Almost on cue, the blob screeched at them and tossed a sizable chunk of ice in their direction. It connected with Minato's wrist and sent waves of pain across his arm. He slumped to the floor, effectively useless. Junpei jumped back in shock and pointed his sword at the blob menacingly. It wrenched the cheap blade from his grip and tossed it aside.

"Fuckfuckfuck! I'm sorry!" He yelled as he narrowly dodged the shadow's lunge.

He backed away until he felt a solid wall behind him. This was it, he was cornered by some ice launching snot monster. It would go down in history that he was all bark, no bite. He braced himself.

The shadow moved to shoot a chunk of ice at him. It reeled its arm back before stopping suddenly as a loud smack rang across the alley. An arrow had pierced the blob and smashed against the pavement. The creature slumped to the ground before dissolving away.

Junpei wiped beads of sweat of his brow before letting out a deep breath. "Holy crap, Yuka-tan! You really saved my ass there!"

She ignored him and pulled out her evoker. "How's your wrist, Minato?"

The teen grimaced as he poked the swollen area. "Broken or fractured... I think I'm gonna have to call it a day."

She eyed the wound for a second before kneeling down next to him. "Here, let me fix it."

He raised an eyebrow at her. Did she have some advanced first aid training? He supposed it wasn't unreasonable given that she'd been part of Mitsuru's paramilitary group for god knows how long.

The girl pressed the evoker against her head and squeezed the trigger.

A flash of green light surrounded him as a soothing sensation washed over him. The swelling in his wrist subsided in seconds. He couldn't help but look at Yukari in awe. Junpei joined him and stared slack-jawed at the brunette.

"How did you do that?" Minato asked. He was squeezing his wrist, feeling no pain whatsoever. Whatever she had done was damn thorough.

Yukari paused. Nobody had ever asked her to explain how her healing worked. How could she phrase this?

"My persona has a couple of powers that focus on healing wounds or removing aliments. They all just sorta became clear to me when I first used my evoker," she explained.

"That's frickin' incredible!" Junpei dug around for his evoker. "Lemme see what mine can do."

Minato looked at him with clear disapproval. "Put that away."

"Hey, what gives?" He asked.

"We're not allowed to use them if there's no immediate threat," Minato reminded. His patience was running thin. He quite liked Junpei's company after school, but working with him was grating.

Junpei's eyes widen in recognition. Had he already forgotten Mitsuru-senpai's instructions?

"Oh, right. Sorry guys, got a little carried away," he apologized. "...and about the pissing off the shadow..."

Minato was a bit taken aback by the teen's apologies. He had already branded him as a friendly but impulsive, hard headed man. His acquaintance had more layers than he gave him credit for.

"It was a good thing, really," Minato said.

"What? Whaddya mean?" He asked. Had he really inadvertently helped out or was Minato just trying to pity him?

Minato pointed at the mess of equipment and ice shards in the alley. "We learned what its like when the rug gets pulled up from under us. I'm glad we got that out the way with a tiny one."

Yukari nodded. "Yeah, he's right. Last time I went up against a shadow I just froze up. I think having to fight a smaller one just now gave me the confidence I needed."

"Yeah, no kiddin'. Thanks again for the assist," Junpei said.

The trio spent a while picking up their gear before moving out.

* * *

The group scanned the empty streets of their block for several minutes before finally arriving back at the dorm. An oddly quiet Akihiko led them to the command room were they sat in silence while Mitsuru scanned their expressions.

"I'd like to start this off by disclosing that I was monitoring your entire patrol," she said.

Minato thought back to when he'd been shown his encounter on the rooftop. It made perfect sense for the Kirijo Group to have set up a security network across the neighborhood.

"Surveillance cameras..." He muttered.

She smirked. Her contractor was a sharp thinker. "A perfectly reasonable guess, but I'm afraid that that's not the case."

Mitsuru motioned to her holster.

"My persona allows me to see what you see vividly within a 500 meter radius. After that, it becomes less reliable."

Junpei turned pale. "So that means..."

"Correct."

She paused for a second before facing Junpei.

"Iori, my orders were clear. You were to stick with the group and **avoid** conflict unless absolutely necessary. Wanting to 'poke' a shadow is not a valid excuse. Running off at random is inexcusable."

The teen hung his head in shame. He blew it. His chance to make something of himself gone because he couldn't manage his impulsive nature.

"I want you to redeem yourself tomorrow. Is that something you're capable of?"

His head snapped up to met her gaze. "Y-Yeah! For sure, you won't regret this, senpai!"

"Excellent." She glanced at Yukari.

"Your quick thinking prevented further injuries and stabilized the situation. Very impressive, Takeba."

The brunette sighed in relief. She was half expecting to get chewed out for not doing more to stop Junpei's antics.

"Arisato, you managed to keep everyone on task despite your injury and clear lack of sleep. You're dependable under pressure. That being said I need you to fix your sleep schedule. If the problem is behavioral, fix it. If the problem is medical, get pills."

He nodded. There was no way in hell he could explain his midnight interruptions without sounding like he needed to be put in an asylum.

"Any comments, Akihiko?"

The boxer paced around for a few seconds before addressing the trio, "You're skilled...but completely disorganized. Yukari, you didn't let anyone know that you were about to shoot. One wrong step would have left Junpei with an arrow in the leg."

He strode over and pat Junpei's arm. "You've got a lot muscle on you. With some experience in the field and more restraint you'll be a great heavy hitter." He turned to Minato and came up blank.

"You... can take a beating. It helps to have that endurance. Learning how to use a weapon would really help you out though."

Minato raised an eyebrow at the man.

"I'm alright with a rifle."

Everyone turned to the blue haired teen in surprise.

"E-Excuse me?" Mitsuru asked.

"We had range time at the academy. Twice a month."

She supposed that it made sense for army cadets to get hands on time with guns. A competent firearms user would add a lot firepower to the team, but two major problems presented themselves to her. Japan did not have a large private firearms market. Sourcing guns and ammunition would be prohibitively expensive and time consuming. There was also the chance that he was playing up his skill. Accidental deaths could occur...

"I'll have one of my people confirm your skill. If they give me the green light I'll see about getting you a firearm," she said.

Minato nodded. "Fine by me."

The juniors were mercifully allowed to leave after a few more bits of advice on future patrols. Minato was beyond exhausted. He limped back to his room without even bothering to close the door and collapsed into his mattress. After mere seconds he drifted into dreamless sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN:** Reworked.

 **Last Edited: 06/21/18**

* * *

 **First Expedition**

For the first time this year Minato was back at a range. An indoor range, the worst kind. The air conditioning was non-existent, the lighting was set brighter than an ER ward, and the acoustics were exceptionally harsh. Mitsuru had managed to get him into one of their training centers with some forged documents and strategic overtime payments. He'd been given a brief multiple choice quiz over firearm safety before being grouped up with some old foreign instructor that reeked of tobacco.

Minato pressed the stock of the carbine tight against his shoulder and leaned in. His target was only a few meters away, hard to miss by any standards. He slipped his finger into the trigger guard.

"Shooter ready!" He yelled loud enough to hear over their ear protection.

His instructor gave him a pat on the back. That was his cue. The carbine barked twice as he squeezed the trigger. Two holes appear on the target's head. One clipped the scalp and the other hit dead center.

He wasn't used to the recoil. He was genuinely surprised at the massive gap between a .22 and a 9mm rifle. Nothing he couldn't handle, but still foreign.

His fingers wrapped tighter around the barrel and he let out another burst. Two center shots, one way the hell off in the corner.

"Gotta hold it tight, son," the Instructor said.

He nodded and squeezed the rifle as hard as he could without shaking it. His next burst hit more or less center. The following one strayed up toward the target's forehead but the grouping was tight. What was that? 11 shots total? He squeezed the trigger one more time to confirm it.

 ***click***

"Empty!" He called out before setting the rifle down on the bench and standing at attention.

The instructor looked at his handy work before jotting down a few notes on his clipboard.

"Your groupings are good. Accuracy could use a bit of work but that comes with every new firearm. Passed the safety quiz with no problems. I'd say you're good to go."

Minato sighed in relief. He really did not want to be stuck fighting with a spear.

The instructor handed him a note with a stamped signature and waved him off. "Go on, I got other clients waiting."

Not wanting to keep the man waiting, he opened the door to the airlock and made himself scarce. He hated the airlocks. The already heavy doors were significantly harder to open thanks to the vacuum effect. With a hard yank he forced the door open and entered the lobby. He tore off his sweat coated eyes & ears and tossed them into the "used" bin.

Mitsuru got up from her seat and looked at him expectantly.

"How'd it go?"

He shrugged. "Fine." He handed her the stamped note.

She scanned the paper. Fairly average marksmanship, excellent safety rating. It appeared the teen's claims were true.

"I suppose this settles the matter. I'll do what I can to find you a firearm."

He looked back towards the range. "Can't we just buy the one I used today?"

"That'd be impossible. It's serialized and in use by a Kirijo subcontractor to train our security contractors."

The scale of the Kirijo Corporation never failed to impress him. "That's a lot of contracting."

"It saves costs." She glanced at her watch. "The monorail will be here in twenty minutes, we should get going."

* * *

At Mitsuru's request, SEES's had gathered in front of the school at the dead of night. The redhead was nowhere to be seen, with just ten minutes remaining until the clock struck midnight. Akihiko kept himself entertained with some light calisthenics while the anxious juniors talked amongst themselves.

"Sooo, why are we at school again? Wait! She's not gonna make us take late night classes is she!?" Junpei said worriedly.

Yukari laughed and shook her head. "If that were the case Akihiko would have stayed at the dorm, ain't that right, senpai?"

The boxer stopped mid-squat. "Damn straight. We're here to explore Tartarus. Hope you're not getting cold feet, Junpei."

"No way, the Junpeinator never backs down!" He exclaimed as he puffed out his chest.

Yukari visibly cringed at the name. Minato had been blissfully shielded from the exchange thanks to his headphones.

A bright light off in the distance was closing in on them. The sound of a powerful motor filled the street. They could see the source clearly now; a white motorcycle and an SUV. They speed up towards them and stopped on the curb. The rider took of her helmet revealing locks of red hair. She was unmistakably Mitsuru.

"Sorry for the delay."

The SUV's door opened. A middle aged man in a suit emerged. He didn't so much as acknowledge their existence.

Mitsuru motioned to the man. "This is Hirano Suzuki. He is a trusted employee of the Kirijo Group. Unless stated otherwise he will be driving you to and from Tartarus, along with your equipment."

The car's trunk popped open. Suzuki pulled out a duffel bag and set it on the ground with a hefty thud.

"That's all you packed, ma'am."

Minato looked at the man in awe. His deadpan mask was nothing compared to that man's.

"Thank you. Please wait inside the car until the Dark Hour is over."

Speak of the devil. The street took on a green hue as the sky gave way to its corrupted form.

"G-Guys!" Junpei was pointing at what should have been their school.

A large tower was erupting from the main building. Offshoots and winding halls wrapped around the structure as it grew taller and taller. After a few seconds it began to slow down and eventually settled. It was easily the tallest building they'd ever seen.

"How tall is it...?" Minato wondered out loud.

"The highest figure we ever recorded was 3 kilometers. Due to its constantly shifting nature we decided against wasting resources to continuously monitor it's dimensions," Mitsuru informed.

Junpei looked shaken. "Wait, wait, wait, it can change!? Like, while we're inside it?"

She nodded. "Of course, but its never affected any expedition team before."

Akihiko looked surprised. "Wait, it's been explored!? I thought we've only ever gotten a glimpse."

"Very briefly. Teams were able to send drones through several floors, even during structural shifts."

"Drones that work during the Dark Hour?" Minato asked.

"The Kirijo Group possesses the engineering talent and resources needed to create Dark Hour compatible electronics. The costs are staggering, though," she explained.

"Why'd you stop using robots to explore the tower?" Yukari asked. "Wouldn't it be safer to keep sending those?"

Mitsuru sighed. "Shadows, unfortunately, do not differentiate between organic or mechanical trespassers. High replacement costs forced the Kirijo Group to cut its losses and stop unmanned expeditions indefinitely."

"Looks like we're the budget option..." Yukari muttered.

Minato glanced at the SUV. Their driver was casually flipping through a magazine.

"Does he have the potential?" He asked while pointing to the man.

Junpei glanced at the car. "Woah! He ain't in his coffin!"

"Suzuki-san was found to be able to experience the Dark Hour, though like Ikutsuki he does not have a persona," Mitsuru said.

"Now if that's all the questions you have for now, I'd like to get started."

She pointed at the duffel bag. "Iori, please carry our equipment inside. Takeba, Arisato, escort him."

The teen slung the bag over his shoulder and marched towards the tower with his classmates in tow.

"Why'd she pick me to lug all this crap?" Junpei whined.

"Because I have scrawny arms..." Minato said under his breath.

* * *

The scale of Tartarus' lobby impressed Minato. It was easily twenty meters tall and god knows how many wide. It was relatively spartan, save for a staircase leading to a huge clock-like contraption and a strange glowing device near the entrance. Mitsuru had set up her motorcycle next to the staircase and prepared it as an impromptu communications center.

Minato looked at his rifle in disappointment. A bolt-action, single shot .22. Apparently Mitsuru had been having a hell of a hard time finding an "invisible" gun that was either un-serialized or considered lost. Even with a few emergency phone calls the best she could muster was this squirrel slayer and half a box of ammo.

He loaded a round and flicked on the safety before joining his team at the foot of the stairs. Mitsuru took that as her cue to start the debriefing.

"Today you will be performing a basic sweep of the first floor. Your goals are to find two key locations: the staircase to the next floor, and the teleporter."

She pointed to the glowing device to the far right. "That is one of the many teleporters in Tartarus. They allow for instant, safe travel from any floor to this lobby, and most importantly, they're your only way out. Finding them is your highest priority."

She scanned the group's members. "You will also need a leader to keep the team organized."

"O-Oh! Pick me! Me!" Junpei yelled, nearly jumping in excitement.

"Hmm... What do you think, Akihiko?"

The boxer motioned to Minato. "He's the only one that's managed to fight with his Persona."

Minato nodded. "Fine by me."

He'd much rather take it easy and pick off targets in the distance, but as far as he was concerned any additional duties were just him earning his check. If Kirijo wanted him to play leader he'd do it.

"W-Wait, c'mon guys! At least gimmie a chance to prove myself! Y-You said that you'd let me do that, right?" Junpei pleaded.

Mitsuru was torn. Picking Iori would likely prove disastrous, but picking Arisato would destroy Iori's morale.

"I don't mind if Junpei leads," Minato deadpanned.

Yukari looked at him in shock. "Seriously!? After how he was last time?"

He shrugged. "Maybe he learned."

Mitsuru almost let out a sigh in relief. "Well... That settles that. Iori, you'll be given control of this operation. Be extremely diligent. Listen to my orders. If things go well then this will be your official position."

"Hell yeah! I won't let you down Mitsuru, I promise!" Junpei looked absolutely ecstatic.

"Maybe I should join them..." Akihiko thought out loud.

Mitsuru shook her head. "Absolutely not."

"Everyone, grab a radio. That is your lifeline. If you lose it you might as well be gone for good," she ordered.

The teens grabbed the hefty electronics and clipped them on. A few last bits of advice were given before it was time to go. Junpei led the march up the stairs and disappeared as soon as he entered the doorway at the summit. Minato and Yukari shared an uneasy glance before going in after him.

* * *

The lobby flashed bright green. The ground team spilled out, covered in blood and bruises. The seniors rushed over and pelted them with healing spells.

Junpei coughed loudly as he forced himself up. "Shoulda seen the size of that damn thing..."

"She said turn left... all you had to do was turn left..." Yukari groaned as she opted to stay seated.

Mitsuru grimaced. The operation had been going well. The teamed followed her navigation and took out targets when needed. Junpei had proved competent enough for that role. But then an ambush occurred. Junpei chose to engage. People got hurt and needed a breather. Shadows got drawn in by the noise. Within minutes they were being overwhelmed. Junpei panicked and led them blindly through the floor, either too scared or too deaf from the gunshots to listen to her directions.

That had been another cruel lesson for her fledgling members. Guns were painfully loud. She hadn't done her homework... Ear protection would take priority in her shopping list.

"Iori, that was a valiant effort on your part, but I don't want a repeat of this. Arisato, I want you to led the next operation."

Junpei didn't contest her. He just sat on the staircase and hung his head low.

"Arisato?" She looked at the dazed teen. He had been sporting a nasty cut on his back. They managed to seal the wound but it looked like he was still dazed from blood loss.

"Mmh?" He hummed as he looked up at her.

"N-Nevermind. We can discuss it later."

She enlisted Suzuki's help in dragging the teens to the car and packed away their equipment. Anything left behind stood a chance at re-materializing on campus once the Dark Hour ended. They waited patiently for the dull green light of the Dark Hour to disappear before starting the engine. The juniors were sound asleep in the back. They were a complete mess. Sweat, grime, and blood covered their tattered uniforms. Another thing she would have to look into.

She felt a hand on her arm.

"Hey, don't stay up too late... I know you get lost in 'what if's' after every botched job," Akihiko said with an unusual softness in his voice.

She nodded. No good planning could come from a sleep deprived brain.

* * *

Akihiko slung Yukari over his good shoulder. The girl was completely out. Suzuki and Mitsuru got to work dragging the much heavier boys back to their dorms. He almost envied them. The first time he passed out on a mission Shinji had opted to just toss him on the floor next to his room. He dropped off the girl and helped the others store away their gear.

"New recruits need more training..." He mumbled to himself as he scrapped black ooze off their equipment.

It was decided. Starting tomorrow he would put them on a new workout regiment.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN:** More combat, less combat? Let me know.

Terms you may be unfamiliar with:

-PT: Physical Training

-JROTC: Junior Reserve Officer's Training Corps

-MOS: Military Occupational Specialty

-Pogue: "Person Other than Grunt", enlisted members who aren't in a combat MOS

-Cammies: Camouflage uniform

-NJP: Non-judicial punishment

 **Last Updated 08/01/16** I made the dialogue more natural and gave the narrative some much needed chemotherapy.

* * *

 **Return to Tartarus**

Minato had managed to sleep through the incessant beeps of his alarm and only the hard knocking on his door was able to finally rouse him.

"C'mon, you're already 3 minutes late!" He heard Akihiko call out.

He forced himself up and tried to forget about the events of the previous night. Despite his injuries and the unwelcome memories that the combat evoked, he reminded himself that he had willingly and knowingly placed the responsibility of leading the combat team on himself.

 _'_ _I chooseth this fate of mine own free will.' Never thought that'd come back to bite me in the ass._

He checked the time on his cell phone: 5:48am. He let out a tired groan and slipped into his track suit before setting his expression back to it's normal detached state.

* * *

"You alright? You seem slower than usual," Akihiko observed.

They opted to go for another run around city. They were only two miles in and Minato was lagging behind. Despite a decade of bearing tests, he could feel his stoic demeanor waning under the constant imagery of Yukari seconds away from getting torn apart by the Shadow's revolver. He was closer to Akihiko than most people he'd ever met despite their brief time together, but something like this was far too personal to disclose.

"Yeah, just tired," he said.

"The Dark Hour fatigues you faster than usual, it's part of why I train so hard. You'll eventually adapt though." He explained.

He grimaced internally at the thought of future operations.

 _I'm not sure I want to adapt._

He'd gotten his first taste of combat and god damn was it different from what he expected. There was no order or structure, shit just happened and you had to adapt to the situation. He briefly wondered if his combat MOS acquaintances would fare better than him. Their training was different and more brutal. The older cadets took philosophy courses on life and death. Courses that he could use right now.

Artillery may be the queen of the battlefield, but outside of his mandatory time at the rifle range nothing had prepared him for what he went through last night. Regardless of how he felt about his readiness, it was clear that the threat the shadow's posed was significant.

Minato powered through the rest of the work out, trying to drown out his uncertainties with endorphins.

* * *

Mitsuru had sent out a group text to the SEES members shortly after her speech telling them to meet her in the student council room during their lunch break. The door had been locked and Yukari was stuck waiting for the rest of the team with Minato. The tension between them was nearly suffocating, and she knew damn well that he'd never break the silence first. They'd briefly make eye contact but after a few seconds Minato would wince slightly and divert his gaze.

 _What's wrong with him? I back him up and heal him, but the second I make a quip he snaps at me like that? Now he won't even look at me, the nerve of that bastard!_

"Y-You sleep alright?" Minato asked uneasily.

 _Huh?_

"Why do you care?" She snapped at him.

He bit his lip and steadied his nerves.

"Things got rough yesterday. Just wanna know how you're holding up," he said.

She rolled her eyes. "Im fine."

He crossed his arms and looked deep in thought before looking at her again.

"Look, last night... all three of us were out of line," he started.

She shook her head. She wasn't in the mood for an "after-action report" of their performance.

"That 'Private' shit you pulled? It hurts to be reduced to your position. I don't think you know what that feels like," she said.

Minato sighed and put on his headphones before leaning against the wall.

"That's where you're wrong," he whispered.

The tension between the two continued to fester as they waited for their CO to arrive.

* * *

"Last night's operation was a success. Despite being caught off guard by a powerful shadow you all managed to come back unscathed." Mitsuru said. She looked at her exhausted NCO before pursing her lips.

She continued, "Well...mostly unscathed."

She mimicked the pose Minato usual stood in as she addressed the team. "As requested by Arisato-san, I'll be injecting more of the 'proper' terminology during official meetings and combat operations. I'm certain that he'll be able to teach you the basics on his own time."

The teen gave her a nod of approval.

"In addition, Takeba brought up a logistical failure on my part which is why I called this meeting. I have designed requisition forms for equipment and armaments that I'll be giving to Arisato-san. You are to communicate your equipment needs to him. Once you finish filling out a form I'll take the needed funds out of our war chest and hand them to your NCO, a position that is subject to change," Mitsuru instructed.

"I'm sorry senpai, our what?" Junpei asked.

"Your 'non-commissioned officer' or NCO for short. As it stands, Arisato-san is your NCO. Later on one of you might take on the mantle **and** the responsibilities it entails," she explained.

Akihiko stood up from his desk and chimed in, "I'll be taking you gear shopping and put that money you found to good use. Is there anything that you want to prioritize for the fire team?"

Minato answered him without skipping a beat. "Body armor. Kevlar, ceramic, steel plate, wood, cloth, anything."

He nodded. "Alright, we'll see what our source has in that department."

As the boxer returned to his seat, Minato got up and stood at parade rest next to Mitsuru. "All members of the fire team will be joining Sanada-senpai and I for physical training at 5:45am sharp every weekday. We will also be conducting hand to hand drills on the weekends," he ordered.

Junpei and Yukari audibly groaned, clearly not looking forward to having another hour of their sleep schedule shaved off so suddenly.

"Do we **have** to train on the weekends? Why not mix the hand to hand drills with the physical training?" Junpei whined.

"We'd have to wake you up at 3:35am to allocate enough time if we did that." Minato replied.

Akihiko reassured them. "We'll ease off the training as your expeditions into Tartarus become more intensive as well as your academic workload."

Mitsuru took the floor again. "I think that concludes our meeting. Arisato, Takeba, stay here. Everyone else is dismissed."

* * *

Junpei and Akihiko filed out of the room as Minato and Yukari stood in front of Mitsuru.

Mitsuru could see the animosity the girl had for her, and it was now being shown to her NCO for his disciplinary action last night. She couldn't stop Yukari from disliking her, but she might be able to keep her fire team cohesive long enough to put an end to the shadows.

She addressed her subordinates. "Takeba, you were out of line last night. I don't mind criticism but I won't tolerate disrespect. If you dislike me, fine, so be it. But don't take it out on your field leader," she turned to Minato and looked at him sternly. "Arisato, I'll handle disciplinary action from now on."

Minato stiffened at her words.

 _That's literally my entire job as an NCO! NJP's and all that good shit._

"T-That wont…" Mitsuru's gaze let him know the matter wasn't up for discussion. "...Understood."

"I'll also have to ask you ease up with your military mindset. We're civilians. We think and feel like them. Even recruits get ten weeks to adjust. Throwing us into a rigid military command structure right off the bat will not bode well. Understood?"

Minato nodded. "Understood."

She nodded to them both before leaving. The sharp clack-tap of her heels filled the silent room as the two teens stood awkwardly; neither of them knew what to say after their brief chat with the aristocrat.

Once the sound of her heels faded completely, Minato straightened his back and forced himself to look at Yukari. He feebly tried to kept his detached mask on as he looked at the brunette.

"Takeba, be honest with me, am I a shitty leader?" He asked.

"Why are you asking me? Go ask Mitsuru for an evaluation."

He shook his head. "You were on the ground team. Your opinion is infinitely more valid."

She crossed her arms and stood silently. Minato folded his hands behind his back and waited patiently.

She finally caved and broke the silence. "If you're fishing for compliments on your leadership you can just leav-"

"Fishing for compliments!? I'm asking because I don't want to you **to die**! Not from a bad call on my end," he snapped.

Minato sighed and looked at her earnestly. "I...I almost got us killed last night. Hell, I've never even led before. I'm just copy-pasting what my old NCO's did."

Her scowl gave way to a small smile. Despite the blank face and deadpan, he actually cared about them. She shouldn't have taken his liberal use of rank so personally. After all, that was the culture he came from. She didn't know how long he'd been stuck at his academy, but judging by his social skills, it was long enough to cloud his judgement.

"You're really stupid, aren't you?" She quipped.

He nodded. "More than I give myself credit for."

"That's not what I meant. You're so obsessed with doing everything 'by the numbers' that you ignored everything that went right."

"Enlighten me then," he said.

"We went up against the biggest Shadow I've ever seen in my life and you managed to beat it back. We turned a profit. We came back alive. How's that for starters?" She asked.

He took a minute to soak up her words before finally nodding. "Huh... I guess we did alright, didn't we?"

Yukari grinned. "Yep."

She stuck a hand out.

"So, we good now?"

He pushed back the urge to hug her and shook her hand.

"Yeah. Yeah, we're good," he whispered before turning on his heel and leaving.

* * *

Minato's fire team entered the police station of Paulownia Mall as Akihiko requested.

"Thank you sir." They overhead Akihiko say.

He turned and motioned to them.

"These are the guys I was talking about earlier," said the boxer.

The officer he was speaking with stared them down. His stony poker face rivaled Minato's.

Akihiko introduced the officer to them. "I was waiting for you guys. This is Officer Kurosawa. He helps keep us well-equipped."

He picked up the silver briefcase that lay near his feet. "Mitsuru-san contributed some funds to what you found last night. Pick out something that you like, Officer Kurosawa here has connections but these things still cost money."

"Of course they do. Nothing in life is free," Kurosawa grumbled.

Akihiko suppressed an eye roll before replying to the officer. "I realise that...Well, I'll see you later. Thanks again."

He handed the briefcase to Minato and left them with the officer.

Kurosawa scanned the teens before speaking, "I've been informed about you. My job is to maintain peace in this city, regardless of the circumstances. I'm just an ordinary police officer, but it doesn't take a genius to know that something strange is going on here. I'm only doing what I think is right."

With that, he showed them a ledger of what he had in stock.

Minato scratched his chin. "I don't see 6.5x50mm on here…"

Kurosawa chuckled. "Probably because Emperor Hirohito forgot to place an order. "

He reached under his counter and pulled out a small handgun. "You ever use one before?"

Minato nodded. "Not that model, but I've done drills with .22 pistols before."

Kurosawa cleared the handgun before handing it to the teen.

"It's a Sig Sauer P220, this one is chambered in 9x19mm Parabellum, but I can convert it to .22 so you have something more familiar," Kurosawa explained.

He looked at the ledger, the closest thing to body armor he had were some rash guards that looked like they might stop a cat's claws at best.

 _And they cost 3,500 yen…That leaves about 90,500 yen for ammo, medicine, and new weapons for the team._

"How much would it cost, including the conversion?" He asked tentatively.

"How about a straight up trade? I'll take that World War 1 relic of yours and give you the converted P220," Kurosawa proposed.

Minato thought back to how easily the bayonet snapped off during its first field run.

"Deal," he replied hastily.

* * *

Minato spent the entire train ride filling out Mitsuru's requisition form. Despite having paid in cash she still wanted them to keep accurate books on all their expenditures. Kurosawa had already left to drop off their new equipment at the dorm and pick up the Type-38 as agreed upon so he couldn't just lie about what he'd purchased.

They stopped at the wild duck burger at Junpei's request; the capped teen was eager to splurge the five thousand yen he received during their first expedition. Minato had no objections and Yukari looked happy at the prospect of food different than the usual instant ramen they ate at the dorm.

The trio sat down in a booth and ate in awkward silence until Junpei spoke up.

"What's the matter with you guys? Did you have your first fight?" He asked with a smirk.

Yukari huffed angrily and threw at french fry at him.

"S-Shut up Stupei, I told you there's nothing going on between us!" She stammered.

Junpei picked up the french fry and ate it before continuing, "I dunno about that..."

He looked at Minato with a devilish smile. "Didja meet Yuka-tan's parents yet, Minato?"

 _You sonuvabitch!_

Minato froze in place, not daring to look at the woman to his left.

"Why would you ask him that?" Yukari interjected.

He scooted closer to Junpei and gave him a threatening glare.

 _ **I'm**_ _in charge of your PT schedule..._

"Yes Iori, where did that question come from?" He asked sternly.

Junpei scratched his head nervously. "Ah, ya'know…it was just a rumor."

He scooted away and the suffocating silence began to resurface. Junpei only lasted a few seconds before sparking up a new conversation.

"So, ah...You ever date any girls at your old academy Minato?" Junpei asked.

"It was an all male academy." He replied dryly.

Junpei dug deeper. "So you've never gone out with a girl?"

He rolled his eyes. "I never said that."

"C'mon, give a guy some details!" Junpei exclaimed.

He hesitated before replying, "...Are you really **that** interested?"

Yukari joined Junpei in his teasing. "We should get to know our 'NCO' more. We're a team, right?"

Minato would've loved to just shut them down, but Yukari was right. They just went through a little slice of hell. If he could trust these people with his life, then he could trust them with some of his background. Their impassive comrade finally caved and began to open up to them.

"Alright, you want a JROTC story?"

They both nodded eagerly.

Minato sighed and leaned into his cushion. "I first met her when our unit visited Camp Jinmachi to observe and train with artillery crews about two years ago. She was in some program that was meant to train cadets for nursing MOS's during the same time. Er, that'd be nursing 'jobs' in the private sector, excuse the lingo."

"Anyways, our instructor had us practice carrying mortar plates and I fell out during the hike from heat exhaustion. Next thing I know I'm freezing my ass off in a tub of ice with a nurse teaching a cadet how to stick an IV in my arm," he recanted.

He took a sip from his soda before continuing, "She was the cutest brunette I'd ever seen. She had her Flecktarn cammies and cadet beret on and there I was just in my boxers sitting in a tube of ice. I tried toughening out the nausea from the heat exhaustion, but eventually I had to start puking into the nearby bucket."

He grinned at the memory. "That was our 'ice-breaker', no pun intended. She was giving me shit for not taking better care of myself and I was giving her shit for being a boot between heaves."

Junpei chuckled at that, "So you start pukin' your guts out and she falls for you?"

He shook his head. "Nah, we really started hitting it off when they put me in the infirmary for the rest of the day. The nurse had her change my IV's and we'd just have the most vulgar back-and-forth's you'd ever hear. Eventually the ribbing gave way to flirting and we exchanged phone numbers."

"Pfft, and they say infantry gets all the girls. Well, this pogue did alright," he said.

"I'd never imagine you to be the flirting type." Yukari quipped.

He stiffened a bit at that. "Things were...different back then."

Junpei noticed his friend's discomfort and changed the subject.

"So, how long didja date her?" He asked.

"Four weeks. We'd probably still be together had it not been for... family circumstances on her end," he answered, not willing to divulge any further.

Junpei got another devilish grin on his face. "So, you like brunettes?"

Minato shrugged without thinking of any potential implications. "Always preferred them."

Yukari's cheeks tinged pink before she looked away from them and focused on her food. She didn't want to ruin this rare moment with Minato by decking Junpei.

* * *

Mitsuru greeted the fire team members as they entered the dorm, "The equipment you ordered has been placed in the armory. I need to speak with Arisato...in private."

The group disbanded leaving Mitsuru and Minato in the lobby. He stood at parade rest as he waited for her to speak.

"This should be done in a more secure location, could we meet in my quarters?" Mitsuru proposed.

Minato nodded in affirmative. "Fine by me."

He followed her to her dorm and stood at attention in it's spacious living room.

She sat down on her black leather couch and patted the spot next to her. "Please, make yourself comfortable."

He obliged and sat down next to her before letting his body sink into the ridiculously soft couch. He turned his head to face her and raised an eyebrow.

"What's this about?" He asked.

She looked at his tired eyes and spoke softly, "I noticed you were having...difficulties after the mission. I want you to know that Akihiko-san and I have experienced similar things after combat. It's normal and I want you to feel like you can talk to us if you need someone to listen."

He nodded. "I'm fine senpai. I just need time to adjust."

Mitsuru gave him a content smile. "Glad to hear it, just speak to me whenever you want to take the team to Tartarus from now on. Would you like to go tonight?"

She didn't miss the fear that began to form in his eyes and his clenched hands.

He gave her a shaky nod before stammering, "I-I'll make the preparations. Have the team assemble in the command room at 10:30pm."

She almost stopped him as he got up, but she decided to let her 'NCO' go.

 _Maybe it'll go well... Facing his fears head on might be the best therapy._

* * *

 _You're a cadet. You've trained for situations like this for the past decade. Quit. Fucking. Shaking._

Minato suppressed the feeling of dread as his fire team entered the first floor of Tartarus. He wasn't a rifleman. He didn't feel at peace with the possibility of death. What he was though, was an excellent liar. Despite wanting to book it out of the greenish labyrinth at the first sign of trouble, he could put up a stony face that could convince anyone that he was calm. He could fool them into thinking he was in control. And more importantly, over time, he could fool himself.

 _Atta' boy. Fake it till you make it. That's the cadet way._

He unholstered his P220 and started exploring the labyrinth meanwhile Mitsuru fed the team information. They stalked the corridors quietly and searched for areas of interest until their radio began to crackle.

"Two hostiles to your left about 15 meters away," Mitsuru informed them.

He holstered his handgun and grabbed his evoker. He wasn't about to actually blow his brains out on accident trying to summon a persona.

"I'll have Berith take them out. You two need to watch our flanks," Minato ordered.

They nodded and retrieved their evokers.

He pressed the steel barrel against his temple and summoned his persona. "Berith, incinerate them."

The silver clad knight emerged and pointed it's trident at the black blobs in the distance. They combusted instantaneously and were quickly reduced to ash.

Minato reached for his radio.

"Hostiles neutralized, standing by," he reported.

His radio crackled before Mitsuru's voice responded, "Understood. I'm detecting four additional hostiles 30 meters north from you. These aren't weak to fire; you'll have to use physical attacks."

The fire team moved north and stopped when Minato raised his fist.

"Iori, summon Hermes and have him stand by. Takeba, when I summon Berith I want you to open fire on them. Understood?"

Junpei unholstered his evoker and Yukari notched an arrow before nodding.

He pressed his evoker against his head and summoned Hermes. The winged messenger hovered over them restlessly as he fluttered his bladed wings.

Minato took that as his cue and fired his evoker.

"Berith, hold this choke point with Hermes," he commanded.

The knight readied it's trident and assumed a defensive pose.

Yukari's arrow flew over his persona and struck one of the distant shadows. It shrieked in pain and sent its team charging at them.

Hermes flew forward and slashed the Shadows at the rear of the pack with his razor sharp wings. The Mayas were torn to ribbons as the metallic wings raked across their bodies.

Berith charged the nearest shadow and skewered it with his trident before letting his horse crush the remaining blob under its 500 kilo frame.

Minato retrieved his radio and reported in. "Targets down, awaiting further orders."

"That's all the enemies in the AO. You can either return to the FOB or ascend another floor."

He holstered his evoker and turned to his team. "You good for another floor?"

Junpei grinned confindently. "Hell yeah! I'm just gettin' started!"

"I'm up for another floor," Yukari added.

* * *

"Command... This is a glove," Minato whispered.

The radio crackled softly. "Shadows can take any form they want. Don't let your guard down."

Minato aimed his P220 at the patrolling gloves and steadied his breathing. After a deep exhale he squeezed the trigger and let a volley of .22 bullets loose on the nearest glove. Several small entry wounds appeared on it's body as it collapsed to the floor lifelessly.

The loud bangs from his side arm disoriented everyone in the narrow corridor as the gun fire nearly deafened them. They did their best to ignore the early onset tinnitus and braced themselves for a counter attack.

The gloves' partner became enraged and sprayed a cloud of small, sharp shards of ice at the group. They pierced through Minato's jacket easily enough, but the tougher polymers of his rash guard stopped most of the smaller shards from penetrating.

He felt a slight sting as a few fragments cut his cheeks leaving small superficial wounds. Junpei looked relatively unscathed as he summon Hermes to incinerate the ice wielding glove.

Yukari notched an arrow and took careful aim before firing in synchronicity with Junpei despite her bleeding legs and the ringing in her ears.

The glove was nailed in place by Yukari's bodkin arrow and reduced to ash by Hermes.

She retrieved her evoker and had Io patch the team up. The small lacerations on her legs sealed without any scarring, a trait Minato was grateful for as the cuts on his face healed.

Minato slapped a fresh magazine into his P220 before toggling the safety and giving his team a thumbs up. "Excellent work."

Junpei rested his replica katana against his shoulder and grinned triumphantly. "You know it!"

Yukari holstered her evoker before pointing to Minato's handgun. "I'm bringing some damn ear plugs next time."

"Oh yeah, about that... I think I'm three gunshots from going deaf over here. You guys use any ear protection in the military?" Junpei asked.

"Yeah, but..." Minato trailed.

"But what?" Yukari prodded.

"It's **very** expensive. I'm talking five figures and up _per_ set," he revealed.

Junpei blanched. "Jesus, that's like one month's rent just to get us outfitted."

"I'll see what I can do for our next op. No promises though," Minato said.

He left his team to banter amongst themselves as he activated his radio and patched in Mitsuru. "Command, all enemies have been neutralized. Standing by."

"Return to the FOB. I think you've received enough practice for today," she ordered.

* * *

Minato couldn't help but let a small prideful smile break through his stoic mask as his troops recanted their battles to their senpai. He was sandwiched between Mitsuru and Yukari again, but the tension between them seemed to have tapered down. He could still see the annoyed looks she gave off whenever the red head would join in on the conversation they were having.

 _Not something I'm worried about. Give them a few combat sorties together and they'll start to bond._

"-urned it to a crisp, right Minato?" He heard Junpei ask.

He just nodded at the excited teen, not wanting to ruin his moment.

He felt Mitsuru's warm hand on his shoulder. He turned to face her. She looked concerned as she traced the dried brown spots on his collar.

"You never told me you were injured, Arisato," she noted softly.

The sweet smell of her perfume became as apparent to him as Yukari's burning glare.

"Just some small cuts, nothing serious. Takeba-san patched us up," he explained as he felt Yukari's glare start to drill at the back of his head.

"I'd still like to be kept up to date. It helps to know about every little detail when overseeing an operation," she whispered close enough to his ear to make him shiver.

She backed away and started dialing away on her cell phone. Yukari was still angry at the proximity they shared with their CO. She glared out the window and let her mind wander as the passing traffic mesmerized her.

He shrugged and opted to enjoy Junpei's excited retelling of their combat as he slowly succumbed to sleep.

* * *

Minato awoke after being poked incessantly on his arm. He open his groggy eyes to see pure green surrounding him.

"Minato, we're at the dorm," Yukari cooed.

Realization struck him and he recoiled away from the brunette he'd been sleeping on. His head hit the car's ceiling with a resounding thud as he jumped back. She and the driver laughed at his misfortune before grabbing his arm and leading him out of the SUV.

"Nngh... How long did I make you wait?" He asked as he rubbed the small bump on his head.

"Not very long, everyone was just barely at the entrance by the time you got up," she replied

They stepped into the dorm and shared a quick meal of instant ramen before retiring to their rooms.

Minato peeled off his sweat drenched clothes and tossed them in his laundry hamper before slipping into bed. The adrenaline had worn off and left his mind racing as it tried to digest what he had just experienced. Today had **far** less blood and revolvers, so they had that going for them. It might not even be an overstatement to say that they kicked ass tonight. He wasn't sure about how badass he was for killing overgrown mittens and blobs, but at this point he might as well take whatever victories he can get.

 _Can't get too confident though... If that large shadow returns we may not get lucky again…_

Images of the revolver wielding shadow filled his mind and the familiar dread of the previous night began to build again. Minato did his best to suppress the feeling before thinking back to the moment he shared with his team earlier. He wasn't the most trusting individual, but his team was performing above his high expectations so far. The stifling mask of professionalism had begun to chip away whenever he spent time with them. It was both a terrifying and exciting concept. To be free of his self imposed shackles for the first time in two years...

 _Though the last time that happened... Car crashes and people that are precious to me seem tend to go hand in hand._

With that thought Minato drifted off to sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

AN: This chapter is behind schedule, so I made it extra long for you guys. I'm probably gonna be going back and editing this Frankenstein of a story to try and make shit more fluid.

 **Last edited 08/10/16** Fixed a lot of the dialogue, smoothed the pacing, made it 22% less garbage.

* * *

 **Bird Hunting**

Minato poured the last of his precious water supply on Junpei's forehead and vigorously fanned Yukari with a newspaper as he waited for Akihiko to come back from the gas station.

"I think i'm gonna throw up man…" Junpei groaned.

Yukari just rested her head against the cool aluminum fence post as she plucked at her rash guard.

Akihiko's idea of a good entry level workout involved some simple jogging up and down the stairs of the metro station, easy enough, until he announced that they had to do it non-stop for half an hour.

Yukari fell out after ten minutes and slumped next to the wall of the station. She idly drank through half their water supply as the rest of the team tried to soldier on.

Junpei did his best to keep up with his officers but after fifteen minutes he collapsed from the strain. The officers scooped up their overheated comrades and carried them over to the nearby gas station before laying them down on sidewalk. Akihiko rushed inside to buy some ice bags and beverages meanwhile Minato tried to stabilize his fire team.

"How the hell is this an entry level work out? I'd rather do the uphill jogging from yesterday." Yukari grumbled.

Minato fanned her harder before responding, "Sanada-senpai usually does this for an hour."

Junpei's face blanched at his revelation.

"O-One hour?" He asked incredulously.

"Even I can't keep up with him. After forty minutes I'm ready to have a heart attack," Minato sympathized.

The rustling of plastic alerted the teens. Akihiko jogged up to them and placed a small bag of ice behind Junpei's neck before tossing a cold sports drink to Yukari.

Akihiko passed a water bottle to Minato before addressing the dehydrated duo, "Alright, you got ten minutes to cool off before we jog back to the dorm."

"Can't we just take the train?" Junpei griped as he rubbed the bag of ice across his forehead.

"There's no trains in Tartarus. You'll have to train your body if you want to do longer expeditions into the tower," Akihiko sternly explained.

Minato gave him a deadpan look.

"Nice pun Ikutsuki-san," he chided.

Junpei busted out his finger guns and looked at Minato knowingly.

"Hehe, glad I wasn't the only one who picked up on that!" He pointed out with a chuckle.

Akihiko looked at the duo blankly.

"I don't get it," he said.

Yukari rolled her eyes. Out of all the men that could have joined SEES they managed to pick up two asocials and a well meaning idiot.

* * *

The jog back to the dorm went well enough. Minato had them keep pace with their slowest member, which alternated between an exhausted slacker and a dehydrated archer.

They all went straight to their respective shower rooms and got dressed before commuting to school together.

The teens shared a comfortable silence as they sat. Minato was far too engrossed in his music to banter with his team and Akihiko wasn't one for small talk unless it had to do with training. That would've left the two exhausted juniors with each other for company, but Junpei had fallen asleep the minute he sat down.

Yukari settled for a quiet trip next to bluenette. She idly flipped through her magazine as the muffled sound of music and distant conversations filled her ears.

 ***RING***

The sudden noise caught the teens off guard as Minato hurriedly took off his headphones and pulled out a small grey flip phone.

"Hello?" He asked tentatively.

The SEES members were roused from their activities as the urge to eavesdrop became irresistible, even Junpei was roused from his nap and had his ears perked up.

"Hey dad... Yeah, everything's fine," he replied. Minato was now keenly aware of the eyes on him.

His face paled. "N-No, the scholarship covers medical expenses... It was just some infection I caught when I came into town, the doctor said I was fine."

 _Smooth excuse Minato._

Yukari would have to keep that one in mind if she ever got injured too badly in Tartarus.

An uncharacteristic blush began to form on their stoic leader's face.

He clasped his hand over his mouth as his blush grew darker. "No, it wasn't _that_ type of infection…"

"No, I won't be needing protection... I don't care if they're ribbed! That's just not on my to-do list right now," he whispered.

Junpei was covering his face with his cap as his body shook violently with muted laughter. Yukari was biting her tongue so hard she thought she might chew right through it. Tears began to form in her eyes as he tested her composure to its limit. Akihiko stared on cluelessly at the trio.

Minato gave Junpei and Yukari a dangerous glare before turning back to his phone."Y-Yeah, I'll call you later...Before you go, can you send me your old Field Manuals? ...Yeah, I want to be ready for when I enlist. Alright, thanks."

He closed his flip phone and shoved it back into his pocket.

"If any of this gets spread around school I'm going to send you on a solo operation to Tartarus," he warned his subordinates before quickly slipping his headphones back on and cranking up the volume on his MP3.

* * *

Mitsuru unlocked the student council room and led the SEES members inside. She had insisted that eating together would only serve to improve team cohesion, and in typical Kirijo fashion she had ordered lunch catering for them that would have placed most of their families into generations of debt. She moved the desks into small groups, two for Junpei and Yukari and two for her and Akihiko. She paused as she rested her hands on the final desk.

"Minato, you're an NCO. Does that mean you eat with the enlisted men or the officers?" She asked.

He stood at attention for the aristocrat; it was still odd to see her use the terminology so proficiently.

"NCO's dine with NCO's," he informed.

She pulled the desk closer to the officers group.

"You shouldn't have to dine alone. We can break tradition in this regard." She motioned for him to take a seat with her and Akihiko.

Junpei scratched his head. "Eh? Break tradition? Aren't you going a little too far with this, senpai?"

"Yeah, wouldn't it be better if we all sat together?" Yukari chimed in.

Mitsuru glanced at Minato and waited on his input.

He shrugged. "I'm fine with either."

"If we're gonna do it formally, the ground team should sit by itself. A close knit group always fights harder," Akihiko said.

"Is it not wise for us to sit with Arisato? Surely he could communicate the team's needs with us during this sparse free time," Mitsuru argued.

Yukari crossed her arms. "He's not an object, senpai. He can choose where he wants to sit on his own."

Mitsuru looked annoyed at her interjection. She walked up to the bluenette and stood close enough for the scent of her shampoo to waft over to him.

"Would you like to dine with us, Arisato?" She asked.

 _Protocol dictates that I accept the CO's invitation. Then again, there's no official protocol for SEES. 'Protocol Dictates'...God, I'm such a fucking boot._

He glanced at his fire team. Junpei looked at him expectantly while Yukari was giving him a pout that threatened to break past his decade of doctrine. The alluring berry scented shampoo of his CO eventually won out and forced him to look away from his team and lock eyes with the aristocrat.

Minato began brainstorming ways to let his fire team down gently when suddenly the quiet boxer spoke up.

"Just flip a damn coin already. The food's gonna get cold," he said impatiently.

 _God bless your timing senpai._

Minato caught a reprieve from the tug of war as Junpei fished out a ten yen coin from his pocket while Mitsuru shoveled through several layers of credit cards and ten thousand yen notes in search of a coin.

"Alright, we call heads!" Junpei said excitedly as he flipped the coin before Mitsuru could choose her side.

The coin went wild and landed in Akihiko's protein shake. The room went silent as everyone awaited Junpei's fate. The boxer looked at the capped teen blankly as the small coin began to sink in the thick beverage. He plucked out the coin and calmly walked up to Junpei.

"It landed on heads," he stated coolly before smacking Junpei upside the head hard enough to knock his cap off.

"Ground team it is," Minato dryly noted.

* * *

Mitsuru handed Yukari and Junpei two plain styrofoam boxes before gently placing an ornate black and gold paper takeout box in front of Minato.

"H-Hey, why do we get the cruddy boxes?" Junpei griped.

Mitsuru smirked before responding, "Iori, those 'cruddy' boxes cost 6,000 yen a piece. If you want to eat like an officer you'll have to earn your stripes in Tartarus."

Junpei gaped slightly. "S-Six thousand?!" He stood up and gave her a crisp salute.

"I'll kill a hundred shadows in your honor, Mitsuru-senpai!" He exclaimed as he puffed his chest out.

Mitsuru grinned at the eager teen before turning to address their field leader. "Why don't you let him get started on that tonight? Are you up for another expedition? I know you've been getting impressive grades recently, so if you need a day to rest just say the word."

Yukari chuckled. "I think he's fine, we've never caught him sleeping in class. Like, ever."

Junpei nodded as he opened his takeout box. "He doesn't even nap on the train ride to school! Even I've caught Akihiko-senpai dozing off, and he's loaded up on supplements."

The boxer snapped his head towards Junpei and gave him a lethal glare.

"Erm...N-Not that there's anything wrong with that!" He quickly added.

Mitsuru looked at Minato curiously.

"Is that so Arisato? Would you care to share your technique? I'd like to have something besides caffeine to rely on," she said.

He scratched his head nervously.

"Just a habit from JROTC I guess. You learn to stay awake after getting chewed out enough by the instructors," he explained.

She nodded in understanding. "I'm glad you managed to keep some good habits from your time as a cadet."

With that, she left the juniors to their meal and sat down with the boxer.

"So...when are we getting promoted?" Junpei asked as he scarfed down his rice.

"When you learn some table manners Stupei," Yukari quipped.

"H-Hey! I resent that!" He yelled after swallowing his food.

She ignored the teen's protest and pointed a chopstick at him.

"Why do you care, anyways? It's not like our 'ranks' affect us. We aren't gettin' paid or anything," she prodded.

"Uh, Yuka-tan, there's this thing called pride. Real men like me have it," he said.

She snorted. "Pfft, sure Stupei. You're a real manly man."

Minato raised an eyebrow at the archer.

"Stupei?" He asked curiously.

"I think it's a fitting name," Yukari said as she sipped her tea.

Minato shrugged and turned back to his capped comrade.

"I won't be handling promotions anymore, that's Kirijo-senpai's responsibility now," he stated plainly.

Junpei's eyes widened at that revelation.

"Then we really have to go to Tartarus tonight, I gotta show off my skills!" He said excitedly.

He looked at his comrades confidently and leaned in.

"Maybe we can even tackle that 'powerful presence' Mitsuru-senpai keeps mentioning," he whispered.

Minato stared blankly at him.

"You think a .22 pistol and a cheap katana knock-off are gonna hurt the 'powerful presence'?" He asked dryly.

Junpei scratched his goatee as the state of their equipment became apparent.

"Yeah, and I guess our rash guards aren't gonna hold up much better... We should stop by the police station today. It's been almost a week since our last visit." Junpei mused.

Yukari nodded in agreement. "The practice bow is comfortable to use and all, but you can only do so much damage with a 20 pound bow."

"Alright, I'll write up a requisition form and get us new gear. I need to get some other errands done so I'll go alone." Minato stated.

* * *

Overclocking, the act of removing software and firmware barriers in order to manually improve the performance of a component. Overclocking is a practice that most home and business users will avoid due to both the technical knowledge needed to utilize the BIOS and the danger that it carries. At the cost of reduced component lifespan and potential component death, the user can gain tremendous performance gains for as long as they can keep the component stable.

Minato was well aware of the risks and benefits overclocking his hardware carried; it's why he held off on overclocking his laptop despite it's desperate need for a performance boost. He was also aware that the principle of overclocking was not restrained to computers. Engines, household appliances, even living organs could be "overclocked". A temporary rush of dextro-amphetamines could boost cognition and energy; alcohol could numb pain receptors and allow for the user to endure more punishment; anti-depressants could suppress feelings of fear and anxiety.

The immense combat benefits carried immense repercussions, both social and physical, if used for prolonged periods of time. He was aware of this. Liver failure, cirrhosis, strokes, vomiting, suicidal thoughts, the bottle he held was disturbingly upfront with it's side effects. He'd done his research, and this was what he needed. It was a purely utilitarian approach; the euphoric effects were merely an added bonus. That's what Minato told himself as he plucked out a pill with a shaky hand.

* * *

SEES sat around the command room as they tinkered with the new gear Kurosawa had dropped off. Junpei sat next to Mitsuru as she instructed him on proper blade maintenance. His new Kishido blade wasn't much of an improvement, but at least it could hold an edge and was made of actual steel.

Yukari sat next to Minato as she strung her new 35 pound fiberglass recurve bow. It wouldn't offer her the same fire rate as her old practice bow, but she would eventually strengthen her shoulders enough to improve her draw time. She looked over at Minato as he worked intently on his handgun. He had opted to convert it back to its original 9mm chamber after discussing their plans to take on the stronger shadow.

Akihiko tested his range of motion in their new modified uniforms. Kurosawa wasn't able to procure any bulletproof vests but he did have a few cheap nylon plate carriers in stock that Minato snagged up. They couldn't buy any real body armor plates so he had gone to a hardware store with Junpei to purchase 1/10" aluminum sheets to insert in the plate carriers. It took nearly an hour of cutting with an angle grinder to get them flush with the carrier pockets but the finished product was pretty comfortable to move around with.

Akihiko took a seat on the couch next to Mitsuru.

"You sure you don't want me to back them up? My tendons should be healed enough by now," he said confidently.

She sighed. "The doctor said 4-6 weeks. It's been two."

He rotated his arm fully and looked at her expectantly.

"No," she chided.

He sighed in frustration. "Ugh, why didn't you use Dia on me? I coulda been back on the front lines the next day!"

"Because I needed to conserve my strength for the Shadows _you_ lured over," she reminded.

'Like it'd cost you anything..." He muttered.

"That cuts both ways, Sanada. You had ample time to mend your wound," she pointed out.

He looked away sheepishly from the aristocrat. "I wasn't thinkin' about that at the time..."

Mitsuru shrugged. "That's hardly my fault."

His fingers trailed along his holster and grazed the cool metal of his evoker.

"Remind me why I can't just fix myself once the dark hour hits?" He asked.

"The wound already started healing. Using Dia will only restore it to its previous state, which is heavily torn," she explained.

"...Fine. I'll stay put," he conceded.

* * *

Junpei lugged the large steel supply crate into the lobby of Tartarus and sat on top of it triumphantly.

"Come get your ammo Minato, you too Yuka-tan!" Junpei called out.

Yukari walked over and grabbed her quiver before attaching it to the belt of her olive drab fatigues.

"Where's Minato?" She asked as she tugged on the quiver to ensure it was secure.

Junpei scanned the spacious lobby before spotting his blue haired friend staring at a corner.

 _The hell? I'm about to risk my ass to get promoted and he chooses to doze off_ _ **now**_ _?_

He walked over to him with Yukari in tow.

Junpei tapped their NCO on the shoulder cautiously. "You awake dude? Tonight's important."

Minato swatted his hand and spun around, pupils dilated. Junpei took a step back as Minato rubbed his eyes.

"Yeah...I'm good to go now. I made preparations this afternoon," he said coolly.

"You look a little on edge, you sure you wanna do this?" Yukari asked cautiously.

Minato stood in his usual erect pose and nodded. "Yeah, I was just...going over strategies. Didn't expect to get touched."

 _If you say so..._

Junpei walked back to the supply crate and handed out their makeshift body armor.

Minato quickly secured his plate carrier and began loading his spare magazines into the chest pockets. Junpei did his best to mimic the teen's measured actions as he fumbled around with the side buckles before hearing the satisfying snap. He didn't have any munitions to carry so he just stuffed his carrier pockets with medical supplies, as per Mitsuru's instructions.

Yukari hooked up her shoulder straps before tapping Minato on the shoulder.

"I'm having trouble with the side buckles, can you hook them up for me?" She asked innocently.

 _You didn't even try to hook them up!_

Minato nodded obliviously and walked behind the archer before buckling her straps. He wrapped an arm around her waist for leverage as he adjusted the carrier before patting her back.

"All set," he commented.

Junpei shook his head and sighed. He grabbed his sword and slung the sheath on his back. He wasn't willing to start drama on his most important mission to date.

Minato picked up an ammo can he had brought with him before huddling the them together. He pried open the ammo can with a satisfying _snap_ and revealed three olive drab headsets.

"These are Peltor Comtac II's. They're designed to drown out gunfire and explosions meanwhile still allowing for verbal and radio communications," he whispered.

"Why are we whispering?" Junpei asked in a hushed tone.

The teen shifted uneasily. "Because these cost 50,000 yen a piece...and I told Kurosawa-san to put it on the Kirijo-senpai's tab."

"I think you're screwed, Minato," Junpei quipped.

He gave a grim nod. "Probably. Grab a radio from the supply box and get these hooked up. We move out in fifteen minutes."

* * *

The fire team breezed through the first four floors of Tartarus, most of the patrolling shadows ran in fear from them and the ones who put a fight were easily put down with a 9mm bullet.

"THE PRESENCE IS DIRECTLY ABOVE YOU, BE CAREFUL." Mitsuru's voice blasted through their speakers.

They quickly reached for their audio controls and set their radios to medium.

"Copy that, fire team is ready to engage," Minato reported.

A sense of dread filled the team as they approached the staircase. Minato ejected his spent magazine and slapped in a fresh one while Yukari notched a broadhead arrow and Junpei unsheathed his blade.

"Let's kill this thing and grab some sushi afterwards." Junpei proposed.

Minato raised his pistol to the ready position and nodded. "Whoever lands the killing blow gets a break from PT for the rest of the week."

Yukari smirked. "I'll make sure to put it down meanwhile you reload."

"Not if Hermes scorches it's ass first," Junpei countered.

"We'll see... Let's get this over with," Minato muttered.

The team stormed up the stairs with renewed confidence, eager to face their adversary.

* * *

"Command, the presence you felt...It's a group of three massive hawks... or eagles. Falcons...?," Minato reported.

"I have a visual on the enemy, please be careful. Lieutenant Sanada is standing by, but evacuate if things get out of control," she ordered.

"Understood, we're taking these birds out. Keep your purse handy," he replied.

Mitsuru had definitely been reading the handbook; she was using the lingo as proficiently as any cadet he'd ever met. He'd have to reward her dedication.

He brushed the though aside and turned to his fire team.

"These things are seven feet tall. I seriously doubt that they can't just pick us up and drop us from the ceiling. We need to stick together. Junpei, test your swing distance," he commanded.

Junpei nodded and extended his blade as far as he could before slowly swinging it in a circle.

He gave Yukari a gesture to scoot away from the junior as they placed themselves half a meter from its reach. Shaky hands soon wrapped around both bow and gun as they took aim at the enemy. The birds of prey seemed keen on guarding the hallway and hadn't budged the entire time.

 _That means one of two things... There's something of immense value behind them, or they're over-confident. Neither of them those things bode well for us._

The atrium they were in put them at a tactical disadvantage. Junpei and Hermes could deal out tremendous damage in enclosed spaces, but the high ceiling and spacious flooring would play against his pathetic accuracy. Yukari was a good shot. She wouldn't be a bottleneck in this situation.

 _That leaves me... Let's hope that I bought the good shit._

He took an alprazolam emboldened step forward and flipped off his safety.

"Takeba, shoot the center target. Iori, have hermes fly around in standby. We'll fire once you summon Hermes," Minato ordered as he aimed his P220 at the rightmost bird.

Junpei nodded and placed his evoker against his head.

"Hermes, watch our ass!" He yelled as he fired his evoker.

The messenger of the gods appeared above them and readied his razor sharp wings.

Minato focused as time slowed down in his mind and fired a three round burst at the large hawk. All of his rounds connected surgically and left small entry wounds on the bird's neck. Yukari's broadhead arrow pierced her target's abdomen and knocked it back. The avian creature let out a shriek that was muffled by their headsets as the trio of shadows bolted to them.

Hermes flew towards the avians and swiftly ducked under their talons before letting loose a volley of fireballs. His shots went wild and scorched the ceiling. He doubled back to his master and bombarded the shadows with agi spells as they tried to swoop down on them.

"Yo, I don't think I can hit these sons of bitches!" Junpei yelled.

Hermes' slow moving projectiles were easily dodged by the birds. They started getting bolder and began to nip at the messenger's armor. Junpei thrust his blade upward to try and swat them away as his persona began to get overwhelmed by beaks and talons.

Minato grabbed his evoker and summoned Berith.

"Keep them at bay!" Minato barked.

The knight nodded and held its trident defensively near the group. He slapped the birds away from Hermes with a swing from his trident before stabbing at the hawks when they tried to retaliate striking distance.

"Takeba, these enemies are vulnerable to piercing attacks!" Mitsuru reported.

Yukari notched another broadhead before skewering one of the birds in the neck. It dropped like a rock and shook the room as it's body slammed against the cement. Junpei and Hermes moved to finish it off while Berith covered them.

The hawk hissed at them and flapped its wings with immense power. A large gust of wind tore Hermes apart and sent Junpei flying. His plate carrier was littered with small tears and a large gash had been carved into his thigh. Blood began to pool around him rapidly as he struggled to keep the wound closed. He groaned in agony as his pain receptors began to overwhelm his endorphins.

"Y-Yuka-tan, I'm bleeding real bad here!" He yelled panickedly.

The archer dropped her bow and rushed over to her injured comrade. The hawks circled above the duo and prepared to gore them. Minato took notice and fired his remaining magazine at the hawks looming overhead with surgical precision to give her some cover. Berith doubled back and swung his trident wildly to dissuade their attacks. Yukari let out a sigh of relief as she knelt down and supported Junpei's back before summoning her persona.

"Io, cast Dia!" She yelled.

The princess appeared above her. She raised her shackled hands and bowed her head before bathing Junpei's wound in green light. The burning pain washed away as his cells divided and sealed the wound.

Mitsuru's voice cut into their headsets, "I'm not liking this battle, consider pulling back Arisato."

"Negative, we can win this," he replied calmly.

Minato reloaded his P220 and locked his eyes on the downed hawk before firing a two round burst as it attempted to take flight. The rounds connected and bore deeply into its shoulder, threatening to sever the wing at the joint. The hawk threw another gust of wind and knocked Minato on his ass. A myriad of cuts formed across his body as the sharp gale subsided.

"F-Fuck..." He muttered as cold air slapped his lacerations.

Berith snapped his head towards his injured master. The thought of his charge dying on him was unacceptable. He charged the downed hawk and skewered it's thorax with his trident before raising it off the floor and tossing it across the room. The hawk's body collided against the distant wall and splattered into a mass of ichor.

* * *

The two remaining hawks took advantage of the situation and split up. one swooped to attack their downed leader while the other distracted the trident wielding knight.

"Arisato be advised, incoming enemy from above!" Mitsuru warned.

Minato snapped his head up and raised his P220 before unloading it on the incoming shadow. His shots were erratic and only two rounds dug into the hawk's body. It gave a quick yelp before continuing it's assault with renewed vigor. It landed in front of him with a heavy shockwave that knocked him on his back and sent his handgun flying. His headset flew off and clattered away, silencing Mitsuru's voice.

It pecked at his chest with it's masked face and dented the aluminum plate protecting his chest. The constant impacts bent his sternum further and further until a loud snap was heard. Tears welled in his eyes as he reached for his survival knife and swung blindly at the bird. The blade raked along the creature's mask and scratched one of it's eyes. The shadow howled in pain and swiped it's talons at the knife wielding arm, severing it at the wrist.

He stared at the bleeding stump where his left hand use to reside in horror. The antidepressant in his blood stream had outlived it's usefulness as terror took hold over him. He kicked at the bird in panic as he searched for his missing appendage. His heart raced as the reality of his mortality hit him with full force. He raised his arms feebly as the hawk reared it's head back to deal the killing blow before seizing up and collapsing to it's side; it's back was littered with arrows.

Yukari stood behind the creature. Her body was shaking as tears streamed from her eyes. She sprinted over to Minato and froze when she saw his condition. His plate carrier was completely destroyed. The nylon had been shredded and the aluminum plate underneath was heavily dented. His body was covered in small lacerations and the hand that had been wrapped around her waist half an hour ago was now reduced to a gory stump.

His eyes scanned the room rapidly as his breathing began to get dangerously fast.

"Takeba, you need to elevate his arm immediately!" Barked Mitsuru.

She snapped out of her stupor and rushed to his side. She grabbed his bleeding arm gently and raised it up vertically.

"Minato I need you to keep your arm elevated, o-okay?" She asked fearfully as his warm blood began to coat her hands.

He struggled against her weakly and reached out to a distant corner.

"I-I need it! Let me get my hand! Please!" He screamed as he feebly scooted his battered body away from her.

She fumbled for the naproxen in her medical pouch before forcing it in his mouth and giving him a swig of her canteen. She hoped the painkiller would make him more docile as she tried to get her shit together.

Her radio cut in. "You can save the limb if you work fast Takeba!"

She held the teen as he thrashed against her grip and leaned in.

"I-I'll get it for you, just keep your arm up," she cooed gently.

He gave her a shaky nod and straighten his stump.

* * *

Junpei summoned Hermes again and charged at the shadow that was trading blows with Berith. Hermes slashed its wings across the hawks back leaving a wide laceration. Berith pierced it's foot with his trident and attempted to drag it down to the ground, the bird fought back and flapped it's wings violently before sending a powerful gale of wind at the trio. Hermes and Berith moved to block the attack, the wind severed Hermes in half and dismounted Berith. A small gash appeared in his bicep and the familiar pain from before set in.

"Iori, are you alright?" Mitsuru asked.

"Just a scratch senpai," he declared.

He winced as he gripped his sword tightly and ran back into the fray. Berith was struggling to keep the bird grounded as it scratched at his silver armor, leaving itself open. Junpei leaped at the shadow and swung his blade down at its exposed neck, the blade cut deeply before suddenly stopping as it made contact with it's hard vertebrae. The hawk shrieked in agony and slapped the teen several feet away sending his headset flying.

He lay on his back as the pulsating pain from his wound became more noticeable, he took a deep breath and let the sound of battle fill his ears. Minato's pained screams, the sound of sharp talons striking armor, the twang of Yukari's bow.

 _Never thought I'd go out like this._

He stood and walked towards the shadow. His mind was clear and ready for his inevitable death. He was Junpei Iori, the hero of this story. He'd become a legend that continued to inspire for generations to come. SEES was his chance at martyrdom.

"I ain't goin' out like a bitch!" He roared as he placed his evoker to his head and summoned Hermes.

Hermes swooped down and severed one of the hawks wings before flying out of its attack range. Junpei chucked his sword at the other wing, pinning it to it's torso. The shadow screamed and ripped it's talon free from Berith's trident before charging after Junpei.

 _I take it back! I don't wanna be a hero!_

"F-Fuck! I didn't mean that!" Junpei sprinted away as the bird quickly gained on him.

He slipped on the bloody tiles of Tartarus and fell to his stomach. He spun around to face the incoming creature. His heart sank, this was it. All his life would accumulate to getting eaten by a big ass bird. He choked back the tears as he prepared himself for the gory pecking.

* * *

"Polydeuces!"

A massive fist collided against the hawk's head and turned it into a fine red mist. Junpei blinked his eyes incredulously as he made tried to make sense of the situation. Akihiko ran up to him, dressed in his fatigues and officer's beret.

"You alright?" He asked worriedly.

Junpei raised his wounded arm.

"I got a little beat up back there." He said meekly.

Akihiko pulled out his evoker.

"Polydeuces, use dia on him," he ordered.

The pain dissipated immediately as his wound sealed. He bounced back to his feet and bowed deeply to his comrade.

Akihiko ignored the bow and grabbed his arm. "C'mon let's regroup with the others."

He jogged over to Yukari with Junpei in tow, stopping only to retrieve his blade.

"How's he holdin-" Akihiko froze at the scene before him. He was no stranger to blood, hell he'd been covered in the stuff before, but **this** was something else.

Yukari was kneeling beside Minato. Her formerly olive fatigues were now soaked dark red. She wept as she stroked their NCO's hair.

"I-I'm sorry, your chest was too damaged to ignore. I h-had to heal it first...but I'm so exhausted now," she wailed.

Minato's left hand was loosely attached. His ulna was cleanly severed while the radius was barely hanging on.

He looked at her pleadingly. "Just a little more Yukari, I-I can feel it again. Just a little more!"

"I can't save it! I'm too weak!" She punctuated her sentence by squeezing the trigger of her evoker repeatedly to no avail.

Akihiko grimaced and retrieved his evoker.

"Polydeuces...get that hand reattached," he muttered.

A green aura concentrated around the teens wrist as the sinew began to mend and reintegrate itself with it's owner. Minato began to open and close his left hand. His breathing steadied as he touched his face with the newly reattached hand. Tears of relief flowed freely as he rested his head against the cold tile for a few minutes. He eventually turned to his senpai and gave him a shaky grin.

"Y-You should see the other guy." He joked as his panic began to subside.

Yukari let out a sigh of relief and hugged Akihiko as he rolled his eyes at the NCO's comment.

"Thank you," she whispered as she held the boxer tightly.

He awkwardly patted the shaking brunette's back as he looked to Junpei for assistance.

The junior nodded in understanding and tapped the brunette on the shoulder.

"We should get outta here, there might be more shadows nearby," he said.

Yukari released the boxer and nodded before leaving him to communicate with their CO. She knelt down and started helping Minato out of his plate carrier. The dented aluminum easily slid out of it's torn pocket and clattered nosily to the floor. She scooped her arms under Minato's armpits and slowly lifted him to his feet.

"Lemme do that. You like you're about to collapse, Yuka-tan," Junpei offered.

She shook her head and slung Minato's arm over her shoulder. "I need to do this. Go get our gear."

Junpei sighed in frustration before muttering quietly, "A fuckin 'no thank you' woulda been fine..."

Minato took some of his weight off her shoulders as he straightened himself as best he could.

"I'd turn down your offer for help Takeba, but I feel kinda dizzy right now," Minato replied dryly.

"You lost a good amount of blood back there, you're gonna want to eat something heavy and go straight to sleep," Akihiko explained as he pocketed his radio.

He grimaced, those were the two things his 'preparations' from before wouldn't allow.

* * *

The team only had seconds to compose itself before Mitsuru sprinted over and started doting over them. She inspected Junpei's healed lacerations before feeling his temperature.

"Do you feel nauseous? Any pain lingering from the cuts?" She asked gently.

Junpei yawned as he removed his plate carrier. "Nah, I'm just tired."

Mitsuru nodded and moved on to the boxer.

He raised his hands defensively.

"I'm fine, this isn't my blood," he explained as he pointed to the splotches on his fatigues.

She turned to face her grinning NCO and felt her throat tighten.

"All hostiles eliminated, standing by." He chuckled with a slight slur to his voice.

His fatigues clung tightly to his body and he reeked of iron. Her eyes darted to his matting hair and the dried red splotches that coated his neck.

"I saw what happened... You did an excellent job of stabilizing him, Takeba. You too, Akihiko," she complimented.

"Hm? You didn't see me kick that chicken's ass back there?" Junpei interjected.

She pursed her lips as she mulled over her words carefully.

"Erm... You performed... adequately," she said.

Junpei winced. "Ouch, way to hurt a man's pride, senpai."

"Mmm, I'd like to take a breather, if that's fine with everyone," Minato mumbled out.

Mitsuru and Yukari set their NCO gently on the supply crate while Akihiko shared a sports drink with Junpei. The archer grabbed a handful of antiseptic wipes from her plate carrier and did what she could to sterilize her hands before dabbing away at the dried blood on Minato's neck. Mitsuru reached into her black trench coat and retrieved her handkerchief before soaking it in isopropyl alcohol and scrubbing away at the ichor coating Minato's hands.

"I think Private Takeba has earned an official MOS," Minato mused.

Mitsuru raised an eyebrow at the teen.

"What did you have in mind?" She asked curiously.

He wrapped an arm around the brunette and rested his head against her shoulder.

"I think we have a new combat lifesaver on our team," he slurred.

The teen blinked heavily as he battled the overwhelming need to sleep with the seemingly endless pool of energy he had.

Mitsuru seemed uneasy at the out of character actions he'd been taking.

"Takeba, what did you give him back there?" She inquired.

Yukari rubbed Minato's back before looking at the bottle of naproxen in her carrier pocket.

"This is supposed to be over the counter stuff. It just has all the usual side effects for painkillers. Nausea, headaches, heartburn, y'know?" She said as she passed the bottle to Mitsuru.

She poured over the label as Minato rested his head on Yukari's lap and idly played with his empty holster.

Yukari moved his messy fringe aside and spoke to the aristocrat. "Should we be surprised at a behavior change? He had his hand lobbed off ten minutes ago and lost about a liter of blood."

"You might be correct, this could just be from the stress and blood loss..." Mitsuru mused.

She draped her coat over Minato before leaving to check on Junpei.

* * *

The fire team sat around the dorm lobby in their pajamas, far too doped up on adrenaline to go to sleep. Minato had decided to join his team for once as they watched some late night stand up to lighten the mood. Yukari and Junpei enjoyed a bowl of instant ramen that he had graciously turned down. After his earlier 'overclocking' and the tablet of naproxen he was in no condition to hold down a meal.

Despite his drowsy state, he felt he should break the ice.

"I think it goes without saying that there will be no PT tomorrow," he announced.

Yukari looked at him incredulously.

"You feeling alright? It's not like you to break the silence," she said with concern clearly evident on her face.

He shrugged. "To be honest? I don't know. All I could think about in the shower was that I was alive."

He looked down at his recently reattached hand. "Today doesn't feel real."

Junpei nodded. "I know what ya mean. If you told me this morning I woulda almost been eaten by a roided up pigeon I'd have laughed in your face."

"I don't think I'm gonna sleep well tonight. I've seen some bad accidents before, but actually being able to smell it..." Yukari trailed. She shuddered slightly before returning to her meal.

Junpei adjusted his cap awkwardly as the mood began to take a dark turn.

"You still owe us sushi," Junpei half-joked in an attempt to break the tension.

His gambit paid off as their deadpan leader chuckled.

"My family has twenty thousand yen in the bank. I think you'll have to ask the Kirijo's for some of their mobile CPU money," he suggested.

"Shit, my folks aren't doing so well either," Junpei sympathized.

"Still, Sanada-senpai told me that you handled that last shadow on your own. That deserves a reward," Minato acknowledged.

Junpei scratched his head nervously. "Uh, y-yeah, Hermes and I sliced it up. A-All by myself..."

A light bulb went off in the capped teen's head.

"Lend me a cadet uniform!" He chirped.

"Is that really all you want as a reward?" Minato asked curiously.

"Hell no, you and I are gonna suit up and go babe hunting! Chicks dig men in uniform!" Junpei exclaimed.

Yukari snorted, "What do **you** know about picking up girls, Stupei?"

"H-Hey! I'm a man in my prime. Besides, **you** of all people know I'm right about the uniforms," he retorted.

Minato turned to her and gave her a smirk. "C'mon, you'd make a great wingman."

She gave him a playful shove and sassed, "Only if you join the archery club."

"I already have our senpai hounding me to join their clubs, what makes archery so special?" He prodded.

"You'd get to hang out with people with brain cells for a change..." She hummed.

"I think I'll pass. Tomochika-san already thinks we're dating n' shit. I don't want more rumors surrounding me," he said.

"Geez, I thought all that crap died out weeks ago," she huffed out.

He shook his head. "They won't stop until I start flirting with guys at this rate."

He raised an eyebrow at Junpei. "Want to be my fake boyfriend?"

Junpei bolted off the sofa and sat on the opposite end of the lobby.

"Nuh-uh. I ain't getting dragged into any weird shit tonight!" He yelled as he clutched his bowl defensively.

"Damn, so much for that plan. Sorry, Takeba-san, I guess we need to live up to the rumors now," he declared.

A hot blush rushed up the brunette's face.

"D-Don't say stupid stuff like that!" She stammered.

"Christ. You're lucky you're missing a liter of blood, otherwise I'd have slapped you for something like that," she warned.

A shit eating grin formed on the drowsy teen's face.

"You're cute when you're riled up," he noted.

"Shut up."


	8. Chapter 8

**AN:** Finals are coming up so I can't pump these out as fast as I usually can. As always, if you think this chapter was extra shitty, leave some feedback.

Last Edited: 08/15/16 Major rewrites, but no plot change overall.

* * *

 **Bonds of Combat**

Minato paced around his room tirelessly, occasionally glimpsing at the paper bag in his open footlocker. The temptation to keep up his 'overclock' was nudging at him. It was his first time experimenting with this cocktail, afterall. Any self respecting overclocker always pushes his voltages and clock speed to the absolute limit...

 _You can always buy a new Q6600. Can't say the same for a heart._

The chinese organ market disagreed, but perhaps it was best to be overly cautious with his health.

His comrades had long since retired to their dorms and left him alone to mull over their operation. Truth be told, outside of a brief spat of terror with his amputation and aggressive chest pecking he had felt pretty euphoric during and after the combat.

He spared a glance at the blood caked fatigues in his laundry hamper. No matter what decisions he took in life, it seemed that he would always find a way to end up covered in the damn stuff. He couldn't be too upset, though. No one was dead and he got to keep his hand. No harm, no foul.

The Adderall XR and Xanax had performed admirably during his time in Tartarus. He'd been afraid their effects would expire during the Dark Hour, but it seemed like he had underestimated the dosage. The annoyingly potent amphetamine showed no signs of stopping its slow release any time soon. His eyelids were heavy and he _desperately_ wanted to rest his head on his pillow and call it night. Alas, his body wouldn't allow him that. The Xanax, on the other hand, had worn off recently and he'd been frustratingly aware of how stupidly unprofessional he'd been earlier. Not that he could do much to restrain himself. The same drug that steadied his nerves and let him face danger with robotic efficiency also made him act overly sociable outside of combat.

A chill went up the teen's spine.

 _Mitsuru saw…_

He'd never so much as slouched his shoulders in front of his old instructors, let alone get touchy with a subordinate in front of his CO. He swallowed the cringe and tried to find something else to focus on.

He placed his old lenovo thinkpad on his desk and began to draft an after action report. Only something as mundane as Excel could make him forget all about his comments. He logged everything he could recall as the amphetamine running through his brain aided in bringing out even the most obscure details.

 _Seventeen 9x19mm parabellum bullets, one 500mg tablet of naproxen...At least eight broadhead arrows._

He paused and pondered whether he should bother drafting the report; Mitsuru might have drafted one by now for all he knew. He shrugged before walking over to his foot locker and retrieving the paper bag.

 _I could still catch four hours of sleep…_

He held the tranquilizers in his hands and mulled it over.

 _Heart palpitations, seizures, vomiting of blood...Not sure if I like my odds here. This might have bad interactions with the adderall in addition to all of that crap._

He set the bag aside after careful consideration and returned to his typing.

* * *

Minato lay in frustration as he waited for the adderall to run dry. He checked the time religiously and kept tabs on every minute of sleep he was missing out on.

 _Definitely not taking a full tablet for the next major operation._

The amphetamine eventually won out and he rolled out of bed reluctantly. Weary hands gripped the cool aluminum chassis of his laptop and squeezed the power button, all hopes of attending Saturday's class now vanquished. His fingers danced tirelessly as more pointlessly minute data filled his spreadsheet. He wasn't sure that Mitsuru would even give a shit about his report. For all he knew, the aristocrat outsourced her admin work to some private third party. He put the thought aside and focused on the neat tables he'd set up.

 _She better read this crap. I used Lucida Console for god's sake. Arial and Courier are for amateurs._

He finished his after action report and emailed a copy to Mitsuru before clearing his desk and placing his battered headset on the surface.

 _If I'm gonna be up all night, I might as well get this shit done._

While built to last, Peltor Comtac's were not graded to withstand a five foot fall at high velocity. Anything could've happened underneath it's hard plastic shell. Torn wires, damaged prints, broken components, the works. He reached under his desk and retrieved the slim black toolbox he'd been adamant about packing. He gently undid it's metal clasps and neatly arranged it's contents on his desk.

He plugged in his soldering iron to the nearby outlet and tinned the tip as it warmed up before preparing his screwdriver with a small phillips head bit.

Having blown his entire inheritance on his private school, Minato's fosters were in no financial shape to replace his electronics. He had to learn how to maintain what few luxury items he had to his name, and after a while the repair process became therapeutic for him. Outside of music he had no other escape to the stresses of life and he appreciated the rare quiet moments like this.

Through what little documentation was available online, he removed the ear cushions and disassembled the durable plastic chassis. He uncovered the internals and after some maneuvering he flipped over the circuit board and examined the damage.

 _That's...far better than I'd hoped._

The two wires connecting to the right headphone had torn loose, but the onboard IC chip and the transistors seemed untouched by the rough landing. He reached for his spool of rosin core solder before grabbing the hot iron and heating the joint. After a few seconds he placed the wire on the hot joint and gently dabbed it with solder as he reapplied the iron. The familiar scent of molten tin and lead filled his lungs as the alloy cooled and solidified. He repeated the steps with the other cable and reassembled the headset.

He was roused from his routine by the gentle knocking on his door. He unplugged the soldering iron and checked his phone: 3:35 am. Akihiko was usually fast asleep to preserve his 'gains' and Junpei dropped like a rock the second he entered his dorm.

 _Takeba? I doubt it. Kirijo? I did email her about an hour ago… I-Ikutsuki?_

He cringed and prepared himself for potential puns as he hid the paper bag and opened the door.

Mitsuru stood in the doorway, her usual pristine hair was slightly disheveled and her uniform had been swamped for white silk pajamas.

"Can't sleep?" Minato asked.

She shook her head.

"We've had some onerous missions that led to injuries before... but never to this level," she finished with a slight shudder.

He rubbed his wrist reflexively before stepping aside.

"Make yourself comfortable," he said as he motioned her inside.

She glanced around his spartan room before opting to sit down on his bed.

"It smells like you burnt something in here," she commented.

He motioned to the tools on his desk. "Just doing some repairs. Helps me collect my thoughts."

He opened the window to ventilate the lingering solder fumes before taking a seat next to her.

"Our computer in the lobby is constantly having issues. Ikutsuki-san attempted to repair it, but he's better trained in the biological sciences. Would you mind giving it a look?" She asked.

He gave her a curt nod. "Probably nothing that can't be fixed with a windows reinstall."

They shared an uncomfortable silence as they waited for the other to start up a conversation.

She bit the bullet and spoke.

"It was hard enough for me to spectate your mission from afar, but you're actually on the frontlines... How are you holding up?" She prodded.

 _I need to take pills to keep myself from pissing my pants._

He did his best to maintain the impassive appearance he'd become accustomed to.

"I'm combat ready," he replied dryly.

She looked at him skeptically. Her eyes bore into his as she examined them for any signs of dishonesty. He didn't budge. Keeping a blank face had become an art form for him, and he wasn't about to be bested.

"I read your dossier before you arrived... It's alright to show weakness sometimes," she said tentatively.

He froze at that. There were two things that were precious to him. His country and his privacy. A threat to either of them would not be taken lightly.

"My dossier... How thorough was it?" He asked quietly.

She bit her lip as she looked at his impassive eyes.

"...Very," she said.

 _And there goes the trust._

Minato's eyes turned ice cold. His rigid posture became more tense as he glared at the aristocrat.

"Three people on earth know about _that_ , and two of them are in this room," he warned.

Mitsuru stood her ground and glared back.

"Had I known beforehand I would've never peeked at the file. I'm sorry for invading your privacy, but that type of information is essential when building a combat team," she retorted.

It was true. Any employer would've dug around to try and see if he'd be a liability. The Kirijo Group was no different.

"We all reach our lows. I've recovered from _that._ I'm fine," he assured.

She sighed. "I won't force you to open up, but bottling it up is only going to hurt you in the long run."

"There won't be any casualties, so it won't be an issue," he snapped.

She shook her head in frustration.

He knew it was childish, stupid even, but he wasn't about add more corpses to his list. Even if fate tried it's damnedest to expand it.

 _Fuck me, I'm taking Nietzsche too literally with his will-to-power crap._

"After today? Can you be certain?" She reasoned.

 _No._

If he was Nietzsche, Mitsuru was Schopenhauer. He was glad that she wasn't blinded by stubbornness, but even rational pessimism grated on his nerves.

He hesitated before nodding. "I won't allow it."

Mitsuru gently placed a hand on his shoulder. Her eyes softened as she spoke, "I can almost guarantee there will be a grievous injury down the line. I can't have you break when that happens. You're too important to our cause. I realize how cold that sounds, but I won't hid the realities of our mission from you."

 _She's right and you fucking know it. You lost your way after **peacetime** casualties. This is the real deal._

He let out a shaky breath and nodded. "Understood."

They sat in silence for what felt like hours. The sun had yet to come up and all they could do was glance at each other uncomfortably.

 _She already knows...Might as well._

Minato reached for the familiar faded photograph in his wallet before passing it to Mitsuru.

"You know the name, here's the face to match," he said.

Mitsuru hid her surprise as she took the photo gingerly. A young cadet sat on top of a Type-73 IFV with an arm draped over Minato's shoulder. She bore a striking resemblance to their resident archer.

"She looks like…" She trailed.

He nodded. "I know."

She passed the photo back to him.

"So back at the FOB…" Mitsuru pondered.

He cringed.

"I'm not the sharpest thinker after blood loss. For a moment there my brain might have...confused the two," he admitted.

"Does it bother you at all?" She inquired.

He shook his head. "It won't be a problem."

"Okay, I trust you. It won't come up again," she affirmed.

The tension in the room dissipated as they looked at each other with new found understanding.

 ***crash***

 _Again?_

" _I art thou._

 _Thou art I._

 _Thou shalt have our blessing when thou chooseth to summon a Persona of the Empress Arcana."_

 _How the hell is this equivalent to eating noodles with Kenji?_

The two spent some time reviewing his report and discussing their logistical needs before the Adderall wore off and Minato finally succumbed to sleep.

* * *

The sounds of commotion in the lobby roused Minato from his slumber. He rubbed his bleary eyes and glanced at his cell phone: 3:40 pm.

 _Well, shit. The one day I forget to set an alarm._

He hadn't planned on starting his service as a waste disposal specialist at his prime age, but this truancy would probably spell the end of his Kirijo scholarship. He shrugged and slipped on his green cadet service uniform. If he was gonna get dropped from Gekkoukan he might as well clear his calendar.

* * *

The rest of SEES had managed to scrounge together enough hours of sleep to endure their Saturday classes. They now sat around the lobby as Mitsuru debriefed them on their next upcoming events.

"As you're no doubt aware, Sanada will be training you in hand to hand combat tomorrow. Despite all of us being armed, you never know when you'll be caught off-guard and forced to fight at close range. That is why Sanada will be teaching the basics of boxing and Arisato-san will be teaching us combatives." She lectured.

Akihiko nodded in approval. "I won't be going easy on any of you, so don't hold back. I'm not that familiar with Arisato-san's teaching style, but I don't want anyone pulling punches. Understood?"

The group nodded.

The sound of footsteps echoed from the stairwell.

Akihiko grinned and called out, "You don't have to hide in your room. Mitsuru cleared your absence."

The sharp footsteps grew louder as their NCO emerged. He was dressed in his olive green service uniform and beret, complete with cadet insignias on his lapel and cords on his shoulders. A look of surprise replaced his usual deadpan expression as he looked at his team.

"I thought the scholarship forbade truancy?" He asked in disbelief.

Mitsuru spared a few seconds to glance at the form fitting uniform before answering him.

"That's correct. Excused absences are allowed though. Your recent injuries warranted a day off," She informed.

The red head took another long look at the uniformed teen before asking, "You going somewhere today?"

"I'm going on an operation with Private Iori that requires a service uniform." He stated coolly.

Junpei grinned. "Is this the 'operation' we discussed last night?"

"Correct. I've left a uniform in your dorm. We move out in thirty minutes." Minato disclosed.

Akihiko looked at him expectantly.

"You gonna leave your officers in the dark Arisato? That's going against the chain of command," he teased.

Mitsuru chimed in, "As the CO, I'd like to be debriefed on the operation. Lieutenant Sanada's assistance may be required and I would have to oversee the logistics."

He suppressed an eye roll and decided to play along with them.

Minato nodded. "Of course, General."

He stood before them at attention.

"Operation Siren's Call will be undergone by Private Iori and Sergeant Major Arisato. Mission objectives include: Dressing in service uniforms, traveling to Paulownia Mall, and courting the local women. Fail conditions include: Not finding a date for Private Iori. Operating costs are 1,200 yen," he debriefed dryly.

Junpei bolted to the stairs to get changed before Mitsuru could start to question him. The aristocrat looked at Minato grimly before standing.

"This operation is doomed to fail without support. Private Takeba and I will be onsite to assist you and provide reconnaissance. You have a daunting task ahead of you, Iori's charm is an acquired taste," she assessed.

Yukari snapped her head at the redhead. "Hey, I never agreed to this!"

"I take it I'm not going?" Akihiko asked indifferently.

"I doubt your martial prowess will be of any use to us," Mitsuru observed.

He shrugged. "Fine by me. I need to go for a jog, anyways."

"As for you, Takeba, you're a member of the fire team. It is your duty to follow your team through dangerous operations like this." Mitsuru asserted.

Yukari sighed, "Geez, what's got you so into this? You usually don't bring up ranks."

Mitsuru walked to the bluenette and stood at parade rest.

"If the Sergeant Major deemed this operation worthy of spending his time and resources it must be important enough for all of us to ensure its success." She concluded.

"I've devised a nearly fool-proof strategy, we'll have this wrapped up within minutes of arrival." Minato informed.

* * *

"Ahh, yes...An intimate encounter with one of your world's rarities…!" Mused the blonde.

"Uh, yeah. I guess they're not that common…" Junpei mumbled.

Elizabeth clapped excitedly. "This must be a 'fountain'...It makes sport of water, well known to all to be the foundation of life...How wicked!"

Junpei scratched the back of his head in confusion.

 _I guess I should have specified that I wanted someone from the 'non-crazy' category._

The blonde continued, "It's rumored that it's enchanting nature grants wishes to those that sacrifice a few coins…"

 _...Wishes? Oh!_

"Yeah, you just toss a coin or two and make a wish. Lemme see if I have any..." He dug around his pocket for some change. He might as well wish for a normal date.

"Then I must try it for myself," she said giddily.

She unzipped her purse and pulled out a bulging coin bag.

"Fortunately, I anticipated this, and brought a good supply of coins. 2,000 of your 500-yen coins, to be exact."

Junpei felt his eye twitch. "T-Two thousand…?"

She nodded happily. "I shall make an opening bid to the fountain spirit of 1,000,000 yen."

She opened the bag and let the waterfall of coins pour into the fountain leaving a thick layer of copper and zinc on the bottom of it's reservoir. The last few coins rolled out before she pouted.

"I was so caught up in the excitement of tossing coins, that I hadn't given my wish any thought," she said dejectedly.

She huffed. "This won't do...I shall give it more careful consideration before I return here in the near future…"

Junpei wasn't a sheltered man. He seen humanities best, it's worst, and it's oddest. But this girl? She was fucking with his sense of reality.

 _I want off this ride._

He took off the beret and readjusted it like Minato had instructed. Out of nowhere his NCO emerged and tapped Elizabeth on the shoulder.

"I've finished those errands. I can escort you now Elizabeth-san," he said curtly.

Junpei sighed in relief before giving them a bow and walking over to the food court. Yukari and Mitsuru put down their notepads and looked at him expectantly.

"She was cute n' all, but I can only handle so much crazy," he divulged.

Mitsuru raised an eyebrow at the uniformed teen.

"Crazy?" She asked.

Junpei nodded. "She kept going on about 'appeasing fountain spirits' and she poured like a million yen into the fountain. I dunno if she's just really sheltered or really into spiritual crap."

Yukari looked at him incredulously. "One million yen? You sure you're alright? I think you're seeing things."

"Nah, I'm dead serious." He scanned the mall and found the blonde pouring another torrent of coins into a fountain. "See! She's doin' it again!"

She blanched at the display. The blonde poured another year's worth of tuition into the third fountain and grabbed their NCO's hands before dragging him to the Arcade entrance.

"Erm, we found some potential candidates for you. There's a girl at the cafe that goes to our school. She's sitting by herself so you might be able to chat with her," Mitsuru informed.

"Look at you two helpin' me out. I appreciate it, honest, but I don't think I'm comfortable walking up to stranger and putting the moves on 'em." He sulked.

"C'mon Stupei, you look handsome in that uniform. This should be easy for you, unless you're scared," Yukari teased.

"I-I ain't scared!" He retorted.

He adjusted his uniform and marched to the cafe.

Mitsuru looked at Yukari in bewilderment.

"Where did all that bravado come from?" She chuckled.

Yukari grinned. "He hates having his ego bruised."

* * *

The SEES members sat around their booth at the sushi restaurant. Junpei sulked in his seat as Minato tried to console him.

"Not every mission ends in success, use this time to reassess your strategy," he advised.

Junpei sighed as he picked at his food. "I had it man, I was thisclose to getting her phone number but her boyfriend _just_ had to show up."

Akihiko looked taken aback, "You didn't challenge him for his title?"

Yukari rolled her eyes.

"You're a century out of touch, senpai," she quipped.

Junpei chuckled, "Yeah, I'm supposed to get my ass kicked tomorrow. I ain't looking to squeeze in some practice ahead of time."

She cringed at that. She looked at the boxer and then at Minato.

"I've never even been in a fist fight... Am I gonna come to school with a black eye on Monday?" She asked nervously.

"Sanada-senpai showed me his safety equipment. I doubt you'll have any bruises from our training." Minato reassured.

He turned to look at Akihiko who flashed him a devilish grin. Mitsuru feigned ignorance as he looked at her for help.

 _Is this because of the headsets?!_

"...I, on the other hand, will be sparing with Sanada-senpai for your education," he said meekly.

Junpei patted his back solemnly. "I'll visit the shrine before your match, maybe the gods will spare you."

"So, who was that girl you and Junpei got dragged around by?" Yukari interjected.

Minato scratched his head nervously. "She's a foreigner; I met her before on a deployment and figured Junpei might like pretty blondes."

His fellow uniformed friend nodded sagely. "There was plenty to like, but now I see why some people dig personality over looks."

Akihiko grinned. "This could have all been avoided if one of you ladies slipped Junpei your phone number."

The aristocrat and the archer shook their heads in unison.

"I don't fraternize with my subordinates." Mitsuru stated bluntly.

Yukari nodded. "Likewise."

Junpei chuckled, "Pffft, you're right! You only fraternize with your classm-agh!."

The teen was cut off by a hard kick to the shin.

Minato shook his head and turned his attention back to his meal.

"Let's keep things professional," he said.

 ***crash***

" _I art thou._

 _Thou art I._

 _Thou shalt have our blessing when thou chooseth to summon a Persona of the Fool Arcana."_

 _I'm on a roll today._

* * *

The team gathered in the control room at Minato's request, Ikutsuki included. He'd brought several notepads and pens with him as well as his laptop. Minato was far from trusting the Kirijo researcher, but his assistance would be essential for future operations. Not that the obvious handgun holster in his suit jacket made him any easier to work with.

 _I'm surprised Kirijo-senpai hasn't noticed it. This isn't exactly the most discrete conceal-carry I've ever seen._

"Ikutsuki-san, from a biological point of view, what are we fighting?" Minato asked curiously.

The researcher beamed at his question. He adjusted his glasses before jogging over to his bookshelf and pulling out several hardcover books.

"They're truly an anomaly. They are not made of cells like all other life...well, except viruses, viroids, prions, etcetera, etcetera. They only appear in corporeal forms during the dark hour, where they can interact with our world and be interacted upon. They're carbon based, most of them anyways. But honestly they're just a bunch of rule breakers for biologists. They don't breed through any known means. They're created through abiogensis as far as we know. And by far the most important discovery, they don't need to take in energy to survive." Ikutsuki rambled.

Minato struggled to write everything down as the rest of SEES looked on with varying degrees of confusion. He was no biologist, but knew enough to have a vague idea on what the researcher was talking about.

"Where do you think they come from?" Mitsuru asked.

"Either they've always been a part life and persona users are so rare that it hasn't been documented, or some event triggered them into existence." He mused.

Mitsuru nodded in appreciation for the discretion he used at the end.

"Can I look over your research notes? Perhaps some of your source material?" Minato requested.

"I'm afraid all of that is above our pay grades now. The Kirijo Group has them archived for safekeeping. I've already requested copies but I doubt the CEO plans on releasing them anytime soon." Ikutsuki griped.

The former cadet glanced at Mitsuru.

"Get us those notes please." He requested.

"I'll see what I can do…" She murmured uncomfortably.

A light bulb went off in Minato's head.

"Wait, why does some of our electronic gear fail meanwhile some still functions fine?" asked the NCO.

Ikutsuki smiled and clasped his hands.

"Ah, that's what the Kirijo Group has been trying to figure out. Right now the prevailing hypothesis is that only basic electronics like headphones and radios maintain their functionality because they are very simple and don't require outside power sources. It stands to reason that street lights don't work because despite their simplicity, the generators supplying them are too complex to transition into the Dark Hour. Unless specially engineered, you can assume anything more complicated than an IC Chip won't be able to operate during the Dark Hour," he rambled.

"Specially engineered?" Minato asked.

"Again, that's above our pay-grades. Not to mention that I'm not an engineer; I doubt that'd I'd be able to give a thorough explanation." Ikutsuki replied.

* * *

Ikutsuki continued to debrief them on the biology and history of shadows, carefully leaving out details of his former researcher at the experimentation lab. Once Minato felt satisfied with the amount of data he provided, he ended the meeting and retired to his room with the fire team members.

"Woah, you're not really the furniture type are you?" Junpei commented.

Minato shook his head. "Military housing is far from spacious. We just had futons and a small table. Guess I just got used to the minimalist lifestyle."

The teen motioned to his bed.

"Have a seat." He offered.

Yukari sat next to Junpei on the mattress before finally asking, "What's going on?"

Minato locked his door before standing in front of his team in parade rest.

"Kirijo-senpai and Ikutsuki-san are hiding something important from us. Sanada-senpai is most likely not affiliated but I can't take any risks at this point. It may be a harmless tidbit of knowledge, it may be something terrible, or it might just be a corporate security issue. All I know is that the way they were glancing at each other when one of them started to go into detail about their methodology was far too suspicious to ignore," he disclosed.

Yukari nodded. "I've had my doubts about them for a while. Every time I start asking around or looking through public records on the Kirijo group I always get shut down quick."

Junpei shrugged, "I haven't seen anything suspicious, guess I'll have to keep my eyes and ears open."

"Alright, just...Don't go around making accusations until we get some more concrete evidence. Even then, don't bother if it's the usual corporate crap. Let the revenue service catch to them if it's bad enough." Minato added.

"Wasn't planning on it," Yukari said.

Their NCO nodded before unlocking his door.

Minato looked at his team sternly. "Nothing we said leaves this room, understood?"

They nodded in unison and filed out of his room.


	9. Chapter 9

**AN:** I'm getting some tactical shit ready for the next chapter for those of you that like that. As it stands, I'll only be able to get out 1 chapter a week unless I shrink them down to 1-2k words. If you guys prefer that, let me know and I'll see what I can do.

Terms you may be unfamiliar with:

Civvies: Civilian clothes, normal shit you and I wear.

 **Last Edited:** 08/20/16, It should suck less now.

* * *

 **Training Day**

"C'mon Junpei, you're up." Akihiko called out.

 _Alright, this is easy. Just punch him and don't get punched._

The cap wearing teen begrudgingly strapped on his chest padding and replaced his baseball cap with the black padded cage helmet he'd been given before climbing into the ring. He lowered the face cage and secured it into place. Minato walked over to him and helped him strap his gloves on before patting him on the back.

"You're just gonna practice your jabs here. Remember what he taught you and don't overexert yourself," Minato advised.

Junpei nodded and straightened his spine before putting his left shoulder forward as he'd been instructed to. Akihiko finished strapping on his gloves and assumed an upright stance. He moved closer to Junpei and extended his right hand.

 _Aww shit, he mentioned this before._

Junpei stared at it for a while before Akihiko rolled his eyes and looked to Minato for help.

"You're supposed to touch gloves. It's a sign of respect," he informed.

 _Oh._

Junpei nodded and bumped his fist against Akihiko's. The senior nodded to him respectfully before stepping back and assuming his stance once again. Their field leader reached for his stopwatch before stepping between the two.

"This is a practice match. You will apply the techniques taught to you by Sanada-senpai for two minutes. Standard boxing rules apply. The fight begins at the first beep and ends with the second beep," he explained.

He stepped back to a safe distance and started the match with a loud beep from his stopwatch.

Akihiko quickly closed the distance and sent a hook towards Junpei. The teen sloppily blocked the blow with his arm before jumping back and retaliating. Akihiko took a step closer before bobbing away from Iori's jab. Junpei jumped to the side and sent another jab at the senior before retreating.

 _Shit, he's waaay too fast for this to be a beginner fight._

Akihiko crouched and moved in close to the junior before throwing a powerful uppercut to his chest, Junpei attempted to block it but the power behind it broke past his defenses and struck his sternum.

The blow knocked him to the ropes and made him hunch over gasping for air. Akihiko withheld his jabs and backed down to let the junior recover.

 _So much for not getting punched…_

Junpei shook his head clear and took a deep breath before assuming his stance again and moving towards the boxer. He pushed in and threw a jab at Akihiko. The boxer easily blocked it and returned the favor with a hook. Junpei hopped to the left and popped him in the chest hard enough to make him stagger before backing away. He sent a few jabs towards the more experienced boxer which were easily dodged. Akihiko parried his last jab and sent an overhand punch that connected with his helmet. His knees gave under the force of the impact and he was sent to the floor face first as a loud beep rang out.

Akihiko removed his gloves and offered the junior a hand which he accepted begrudgingly, his pride clearly wounded. Minato helped him out of his gear before looking at his roster.

"Kirijo-senpai, you're up in five," he called out.

The aristocrat nodded and went over to her supply locker. He turned back to the two fighters and was met with an attentive Junpei eagerly taking pointers from his senior.

"What you should've done was gotten away from me the second I started moving in. The overhand punch is powerful but it takes longer to connect which gives fighters a chance to either close in and attack or retreat. Once you get a bit practice on your footwork I'll show you how to parry it," Akihiko explained as he reenacted their fight.

Junpei beamed at his advice.

"I'm gonna beat you one of these days senpai, just you wait!" Boasted the junior.

The boxer shook his head at Junpei's bravado before patting his back.

"Yeah, we'll see about that," he said as he rolled his eyes.

* * *

The aristocrat touched gloves with the boxer before entering a semi-crouch stance and awaiting the start of the round. It wasn't her first time fighting the boxer. She'd requested to train with him before, but her administrative duties had constantly conflicted with the boxer's training schedule. He had proven to be a powerful opponent. He surpassed her in raw strength, speed, endurance, and training. The only edge she had over the champion boxer was the agility her smaller frame granted her... and the injured ligaments in his dominant arm. Not that she'd get cocky. He beat out Iori quite easily despite the injury weighing him down.

Minato glanced at them. "Ready?"

"Yep."

"Likewise."

The beep rang out and she pushed off her feet quickly to build distance between the two. She knew that she would never stand a chance at downing the champion boxer, so instead she'd have to keep her distance until he tired himself out.

 _But he never tires out…_

She brushed the thought aside and kept going in circles as Akihiko tried to close the distance. He bolted towards her and threw a jab that she bobbed away from before sending an uppercut to his chest and retreating. Despite his lack of protective gear, the boxer looked completely unfazed by her blow. She cursed her administrative duties as she was reminded at her lack of physical strength.

 _Perhaps it's time to join the others in their morning workouts._

He closed the distance again and threw a jab that she barely managed to block with her gloves, it's force threw her to her knees. The boxer stepped back and waited for her to get back on her feet before re-entering his fighting stance. He threw a hook that she swiftly ducked under before jabbing him in the chin.

The boxer left out a grunt of approval before cutting off her escape and sending another jab her way. She raised her arms defensively as his fist painfully impacted against her forearms. He seized his opportunity and threw an uppercut that collided with her cage helmet. She fell to the ground and quickly sprung back on her feet before building more distance with the boxer.

 _Any second now._

The boxer cornered her and reeled his arm back as she raised her gloves to block.

The familiar sound of the beep rang out and both of the fighters left their poses in surprise. She gave Akihiko a respectful bow that he returned before walking over to her NCO.

She extended her gloves in front of him.

"Care to helped out your CO?" She asked in a slightly shaky voice from the adrenaline rushing through her.

Minato nodded and undid the thick velcro straps of her gloves before helping her out of her helmet.

"Impressive footwork, I'll have to remember that when I'm concussed," he noted.

Akihiko walked over to him with a disapproving look.

"Don't sell yourself short. I've been looking forward to sparring with you. You gotta give me some hype," he chastised.

"Alright, just don't cry if I end up winning," he teased while maintaining his poker face.

The boxer snickered before giving him a competitive glare.

"Care to make this interesting? If I win you need to join the boxing team. If the time runs out and I have the point lead, you have to join a club," he proposed.

"If I win you need to join that foreign kid in Home Economics. If the timer runs out and I have the point lead, you have to give up protein shakes for a week," Minato countered.

Akihiko looked deep in thought as he weighed his odds.

"Hm...Alright Arisato, you're on," he said with a grin.

Mitsuru frowned and stood between the two teens.

"I want both of you fit for duty. Don't get carried away," she ordered sternly.

Minato nodded curtly and turned back to his roster.

"Takeba-san, you're up in 3. Suit up," he ordered.

* * *

 _Yukari Takeba, 1992-2009. Found dead in local High School gymnasium. Plaintiff in court case refuses to comment, more on this story after "Tanaka's Amazing Commodities"._

"You ready?"

Minato's voice knocked Yukari out of her day dream.

She nodded. "Y-Yeah, let's get this over with."

Minato readied the stopwatch as she walked up to the boxer and touched gloves with him.

"This for practice, don't worry about winning or losing, just use the skills I showed you." Akihiko reassured.

She put her left shoulder forward and readied her fists as Akihiko inserted his mouth guard.

 _If I block one of his punches I'll probably end up with some nasty bruises..._

She sighed and readied herself for a short fight.

 _Might as well forget the defense if I want to wear anything short-sleeved for the next week._

The now familiar beep rang out and the boxer advanced towards her aggressively before reeling back to send an overhead punch. She weighed her options as time slowed down in her head before opting to play offensively. She darted closer to him and used the momentum to throw a jab at his neck. Her fist collided with the his throat causing him to stagger as he let out a sharp exhale. She closed in and threw a jab at his head; the seasoned boxer parried it in time and jabbed her mask. The sheer force of the impact threw her head back and knocked her on her ass. Akihiko hopped in place as he waited for the novice to recover.

She shook her head and readied her fists before moving on the offensive again. Akihiko nodded in approval before extending his arms in a defensive pose. She sent a jab at the boxer with her right arm before ducking and throwing an uppercut to the boxer's exposed chest. Akihiko parried her jab with his left arm before crossing her uppercut with one of his own. The brunette tumbled back onto the floor as she tried to get her bearings.

 _Holy shit._

Her senpai waited patiently for her to get back on her feet before raising his fists again. He left her no room to mount an offense as he quickly closed the distance between and sent a powerful hook in her direction. Yukari pushed off her feet and barely dodged out of the way in time as the familiar beep rang out.

Akihiko looked disappointed as he lowered his fists and offered her a short bow. She eagerly returned it and began to pick at the velcro of her gloves.

She felt a tap on her shoulder as she spotted a familiar head of blue hair in her peripheral vision.

"Let me help you with those," Minato offered with a hint of pride in his voice.

She held her gloved hands in front of Minato and let him undo the thick velcro straps. He unlatched her cage helmet before leaning down and handing the used gear to Junpei.

"Didn't know archers hit that hard…" Akihiko murmured as he rubbed his throat.

She feigned offense at his comment as she gasped, "A profession that relies on constant arm and shoulder usage? I don't see that could _ever_ translate into boxing."

Akihiko rolled his eyes and sighed, "Don't get smart with me. Still, I didn't expect that much aggression. You did good for a beginner."

With that compliment, the boxer left to speak with Mitsuru.

"Your footwork is lacking and your defense is non-existent. If you work on that you'll be a formidable fighter," Minato noted.

"You box?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Calling me intermediate would be an overstatement. I'm more qualified in combatives than anything else."

"I'm probably gonna join you in combatives. It sounds like it's more versatile," she said.

He shrugged, "Boxing focuses on power and agility, and combatives is designed to kill or restrain enemy combatants. I can see how punching a four foot tall demon glove really fucking hard will be useful, but putting it in a choke hold? I have my reservations."

She chuckled and nodded, "Yeah... Can't see that working on a giant beetle either. Still, I think it's better suited for me."

Minato rubbed his chin sagely before replying, "Tell you what, I'll train with you first and let you get a feel for it."

He didn't wait for her response and held his notepad to his chest before jotting down a few things.

"Alright, go take a seat with the others. After I give you your assessments, I'll be showing you some basic combatives. Whichever martial art ends up being more popular will take priority in our training," he said.

* * *

"Junpei Iori. Defense: B+, Offense: C, Strategy: C+," Minato announced dryly.

Junpei shrugged, seemingly content with his score.

He continued, "Mitsuru Kirijo. Defense: A+, Offense: C+, Strategy: B+."

Mitsuru looked upset, as if anything short of perfect marks would satisfy her.

"Yukari Takeba. Defense: F, Offense: A+, Strategy: B," he said as he lowered the notepad.

The brunette cringed slightly as she heard her defense score.

"Sanada-senpai and I will aid you in strengthening your weaknesses in the following meetings. I'll be demonstrating combatives in five minutes," he announced.

The silver haired boxer nodded and left to his locker to stow his gloves.

Mitsuru frowned before speaking, "Arisato-san, remember you have to show up to class tomorrow. Try to look...presentable after your sparring session."

* * *

"From here, you just need to clasp your hands in an opposing direction…" Minato trailed as he slid an arm under the brunette's arm pit before clasping it with the hand wrapped around her neck.

Yukari felt a blush creeping up as she felt the teen's body heat radiate towards her.

"And wrap your legs around their torso before hooking your heels around their inner legs…" He continued as he spread her legs open.

The blush intensified as her throat hitched and salacious thoughts began to ferment in her mind.

"Then you tuck your head to make yourself a tougher target," he explained as tucked his head against her upper back.

Her heart raced as she felt his breath on the nape of her neck.

"And that concludes the rear mount. From here you can attempt to choke your opponent or you can keep them pinned until one of us can assist in restraining them." He said as he dismounted Yukari. The brunette collected herself as she got up and sat next to the rest of SEES.

Minato fixed his flecktarn cammies and stood at parade rest before debriefing his team, "I'll be teaching the mount position next. Anyone want to volunteer as my assistant?"

Yukari and Mitsuru's hands shot up the second he finished his sentence. Akihiko raised his hand as well, not wanting to miss out on the chance for new training. Junpei seemed content to keep his arms crossed as he did his best to look invisible.

He looked at his volunteers as he weighed his options.

 _Takeba again? Nah, that'd look like favoritism...Iori? Probably shouldn't, I don't want him to think I singled him out. That leaves the CO's...No way in hell I'm mounting the heiress to the Kirijo Group._

"Erm... Sanada-senpai, you're up," he decided.

* * *

"Alright, now you need to sit on my pelvis and use your body weight to keep me pinned. Keep your lower legs and feet tucked under my knees to maintain better control if I try to roll away," Minato explained to the rest of SEES as the boxer straddled him.

Junpei nodded as he tried to memorize the move meanwhile Mitsuru and Yukari watched the demonstration scrupulously.

He continued, "Now, if you're on the bottom you're gonna want to keep your head off the ground to avoid getting concussed. You should also block your face with your arms and look for opportunities to get some strikes in."

Akihiko threw some light punches at the teen as he demonstrated his defense.

"For the person on top, you can try to choke your opponent as you strike them or you can just punch them into submission. You hold the advantage because the person on the floor can't hit your face." Minato demonstrated his point by extending his fist as far as he could. It was a few inches short of Akihiko's face even after lurching his body forward.

"Any questions?" He asked.

"Please demonstrate it again." Mitsuru stated bluntly. Yukari nodded in agreement as she pretended to take notes.

* * *

"Why aren't you wearing boxing gloves?" Junpei asked curiously.

Minato finished strapping his shin guards before addressing his capped comrade. "They don't allow you to grapple. We usually go bare handed with open palm strikes or we use MMA gloves."

"And I take it you're not gonna get in the ring to slap the undefeated champion boxer?" Junpei asked with a smirk.

He nodded and reached into his duffel bag before retrieving a pair of well worn MMA gloves.

"Our senpai will make a lovely seamstress," he deadpanned.

Junpei chuckled and slung his arm over his friend's shoulder.

"I'm gonna miss you man. You had a good run and you're choosing a badass way to go!" He wept out in an exaggerated manner.

Minato rolled his eyes before elbowing the teen off of him. "Thanks for the vote of confidence you prick."

The teen chuckled as he rubbed his sore ribs. "You already know I got your back. The fire team sticks together, right?"

* * *

Akihiko extended a gloved hand towards the teen, his eyes were full of excitement.

 _Should've Xanax'd today._

Minato steeled his nerves and touched the boxer's glove before raising his fists to his chest. Mitsuru and Yukari sat at a judging table with the stopwatch at the ready meanwhile Junpei was circled the ring with his cell phone camera, eager to document the event.

"Ready?" Mitsuru asked.

They both nodded and braced themselves.

* **beep***

Minato crouched his stance before sprinting towards Akihiko, the boxer threw a powerful jab that connected with his skull and nearly made his knees buckle. He soldiered on and hooked his arms around Akihiko's waist before using his body weight and momentum to tackle the boxer to the ground. He mounted the boxer and held him down meanwhile striking his face with his free hand.

The boxer retaliated by sending a flurry of punches his way that struck his arms and torso. Minato punched him in his uninjured ribs before grappling one of his gloved arms and tucking it between his knees after some repositioning. He grabbed the arm by the wrist and began to pull towards his chest meanwhile enduring the painful punches his sides were receiving from the boxer's free arm. He laid down and executed the half-assed arm bar, wrestling Akihiko's free arm with his feet.

The boxer winced as his pinned arm began to bend in ways nature never intended. He used his superior strength to wrench his arm free before rolling away to build some distance between the two. Minato wasted no time in closing the gap between them and got within arms reach of the boxer. Akihiko threw a vicious uppercut that knocked the teen to the floor. He winced at the sharp pain in his abdomen and hooked his legs around the boxer's ankles before knocking him to the floor.

He mounted the boxer and used all his strength to flip him on his stomach. Akihiko managed to get in some elbows that tested his ribs to their limit before losing his footing and falling on his chest. He did his best to ignore the stinging pain on his sides before snaking his arms under Akihiko's armpits and locking his hands together behind his neck.

Akihiko used his significantly stronger legs to slowly raise himself off the ground as Minato tried to use his body weight to throw him back on the floor. He reeled his head back and struck the NCO in his face. The hands locked behind his neck disappeared as Minato dropped to the ground. He spun around entered an upright position as Minato got back on his feet.

The junior wiped his nose with the sleeve of his fatigues, leaving a dark crimson stain on his formerly pristine uniform. He closed the distance again but Akihiko anticipated his grapple and threw a jab at his chest with one hand meanwhile maintaining his guard. He pulled back far enough to negate the power behind the punch and raised his left arm defensively.

 _I almost forgot I could do this._

He quickly rotated his body 180 degrees and snapped his leg towards the boxer's head. Akihiko's years of training kicked in and he raised his arms before his brain knew what was going on. The kick carried enough power to push the boxer to the ropes. He closed in to capitalize on his advantage before getting pushed back by a series of jabs.

 ***beep***

Minato dropped his guard and dabbed away at the crimson liquid on his face. Akihiko's experienced hands quickly removed his cumbersome gloves before moving to check on the junior's injury.

"It ain't broken is it?" He asked nervously. Mitsuru would have his head on a platter if he ended up sending a team member to the hospital.

Minato put some pressure on the bridge of his nose before shaking his head. "The bone is fine, you must have burst some capillaries."

The senior sighed and patted Minato on his shoulder. "Alright c'mon, let's go see who had the most points."

* * *

Yukari glared at the boxer as he and Minato sat before the judging table. Their NCO was holding Mitsuru's handkerchief up to his nose, it's former rich ivory color was now a deep crimson.

"According to the handbook, Sanada scored 96 points. This classifies him as 'Elite'. Arisato scored 74 points, classifying him as 'Advanced'. Seeing as neither opponent surrendered or was incapacitated, the victory goes to Sanada," Mitsuru announced as she held her clipboard.

"Looks like you have to go club hunting now Arisato," Akihiko quipped.

 _There goes another chunk of my afternoon._

Minato sighed, he'd been hoping to avoid clubs altogether. He already spent most his time trying to socialize as best he could with people. Any time left over went to trying to improve his charm, which Elizabeth constantly reminded him was his weakest link.

"Alright. I'll honor the wager..." He uttered dejectedly.

* * *

Logistics determined everything in combat. That was something that his old teachers drilled into him. Food, fuel, munitions, human capital, they were all limiting factors that could bring an army to a halt. Limiting factors could be jotted down, measured, optimized. The accounting process of it all enthralled him to no end.

He poured over Mitsuru's team journal as he looked for their most prevalent limiting factors.

 _Manpower is by far our scarcest resource. We're not even at squad strength and we're expected to conduct raids on the tower?_

"Hey...you wanna do anything today?"

The sudden noise startled him and made him jump in his chair. He looked up from his book to find their resident archer looking at him expectantly.

He put down his book and tilted his head quizzically.

 _I want to go over combat logistics with pretty girls, if you're up for that._

"You want to go back to Tartarus so soon?" He asked.

She shook her head. "No, nothing like that... It's just that you and Junpei are always hangin' out, but we barely talk outside of Tartarus. I figured we could get to know each other a bit more."

He briefly considered turning down the brunette. After all, what could be more important than training to take down the Shadows?

 _Increasing team cohesion is training. Indulging her request can kill two birds with one stone. Dumbass._

A small sigh escaped his lips as he reached into his jacket and retrieved a small leather bound planner. He flipped it open to it's bookmark before skimming it's contents.

"I was supposed to go to the Chagall Cafe today, you wanna come with?" He asked.

Yukari nodded happily. "Yeah, that'd be great! Wait... Why were you planning on going to the cafe by yourself?"

"Erm...I like to read there," he replied awkwardly. "Forget about that, let me get into my civvies. I'll be ready in a few."

* * *

The duo sat in a small booth as they sipped on their second round of the specialty coffee. Minato had ditched his Flecktarn jacket and opted to wear jeans and a grey pea coat. She found herself admiring the way it fit snugly, she could almost make out some of the details of his lean musculature. She had always found the teen attractive, but for some reason he looked **really** good today. Yukari subconsciously leaned in as he continued explaining their next Tartarus schedule. The urge to touch his slightly disheveled hair grew as she admired his soft facial features.

* * *

"...and then we're going to explore the tenth floor. At least that's...erm, that's the plan I had," he said as he wiped the faint beads of sweat that were forming on his brow.

 _D-Did she always look this good?_

Minato found it hard to concentrate as his eyes trailed her figure. The form fitting cardigan that she usually wore proudly displayed every curve of her body and it was almost single handedly destroying Minato's decade of bearing training. She leaned in and smiled at him as she twirled a strand of her silky brown hair with her finger.

 _Holy shit._

He tugged at the collar of his coat before fanning himself.

"Is it a little warm in here?" He asked.

The brunette nodded and removed her cardigan revealing the snug dress shirt that lay underneath. His eyes trailed her shirt, noticing that the uppermost button was almost loose.

"You... Umm, you should take your coat off too," she said.

His eyes snapped up and he processed her words.

 _Off? Y-Yeah, it's pretty warm in here._

He unbuttoned the coat and slipped it off. He took a second to roll up the sleeves of his white dress shirt before turning his attention back to Yukari. Her eyes looked at him intently as he adjusted his watch.

 _D-Did she just lick her lips?_

* * *

Yukari didn't know if she had just been blind before but her NCO was looking really, **really** good right now.

"You wanna go somewhere else?" She asked.

 _Woah! Where did that come from?_

She wanted to slap herself but the allure of the teen in front of her easily beat out her sense of restraint.

Minato beamed at her suggestion.

"S-Sure, let me just check the time," he said.

He glanced at his watch before frowning.

He sighed before relaying the bad news, "We gotta head back, we have about eighty minutes before the Dark Hour hits."

She shared his frown before nodding. "Alright... Hey, um, can we do this again some time?"

He stood from his cushion and shouldered his coat, without skipping a beat he nodded.

"Definitely, let's get going Yukari-san." He replied with a small smile.

She blinked in surprise.

 _Not even Junpei gets called by his first name…_

He motioned for her to follow him before walking towards the exit, she slipped her cardigan back on and jogged up to him before matching his pace.

They enjoyed a comfortable silence on the train ride home, both of them sneaking glances at the other as the effects of the pheromone coffee coursed through them.


	10. Chapter 10

**AN:** Here's a shorter one. If I fucked up some aspect of the persona lore so far, it's probably because I've only played Persona 3 FES and about twenty minutes of P3P.

Terms you may be unfamiliar with:

C1: Command

EKIA: Enemy Killed in Action

WIA: Wounded in Action

RV: Rendezvous

FOB: Forward Operating Base

Tango Uniform: "Tits Up", slang for dead.

Hard Target: Armored Target. Tanks, IFV's, that sorta shit.

AFI: Awaiting Further Instruction

 **Last Edited:** 08/20/16, I think it sucks less. Typo's fixed, narrative slightly modified, new dialogue, the works.

* * *

 **The First Barricade**

 _This is bullshit_.

Junpei yawned loudly as he sheathed his sword. This operation was a far cry from their last encounter with a "powerful presence". Gone was the well justified fear as the floor's guardians whimpered on the tile. He almost felt bad for them. Almost.

"Yo, Minato, think I can get a swing at 'em?" He asked impatiently.

"Save your strength, Iori. I have this under control," Minato said.

"And call me by my last name while we're in here. I want things done professionally during the dark hour," he nagged.

Junpei rolled his eyes at him and propped himself up against the cool ceramic wall nearby.

"Pfft, 'call me by my last name'. Shut up, showoff..." He mumbled under his breath.

Orpheus continued smacking the gloves down every time they tried to get back up. He'd already mushed one into black ichor about a minute ago and now the team was stuck standing around uselessly as he swung his lyre at the two meter tall gloves.

Minato lowered his mic and spoke, "C1, we've got the enemy pinned. 1 EKIA, no friendlies WIA. We'll be proceeding to the barricade before we RV at the FOB."

Mitsuru's voice filled their headsets as Orpheus crushed another glove. "Copy that, fire team. Don't over-exert yourselves."

"Finish him off, Orpheus," Minato ordered before turning on his heel to face them. "Iori, Takeba, check out those briefcases once the enemy is Tango Uniform. I'll check the AO for a staircase." He ordered as he readied his handgun.

 _Tango Uniform? How the hell am I supposed to know what that means!?_

Junpei scratched his head.

"You lost me at C1," he said sheepishly.

His leader sighed in frustration before giving him a knowing look. "You haven't even opened the Infantry Handbook have you?"

"Um, hehe...I just sorta flipped through all the pictures and closed it," he said with an awkward laugh.

"How about you, Takeba?" Minato asked.

"Er...I know _some_ of the lingo," she offered.

Their leader's face lit up at that.

"Oh, so you actually understood me?" He asked.

She rubbed her arm awkwardly. "You didn't use the terms I learned..."

Minato mustered what little patience he still had and addressed the teens. "I'm not gonna force you to use it, but at least learn the definitions so you have an idea of what Kirijo-senpai and I are saying."

* * *

The fire team traveled in their usual wedge formation as they explored the thirteenth floor of Tartarus. Every few minutes their NCO would halt them as Mitsuru's voice chimed in and revealed an enemy location. He'd take out his handgun and fire liberally in the shadows direction, angering it and sending it sprinting after him only to be ambushed by Hermes and Io.

"So... How much was in that case?" Junpei asked as he adjusted his plate carrier. The cheap green nylon had been chaffing against his fatigues for the better part of half an hour.

Minato activated his headset and spoke, "C1, any hostiles in the AO?"

"Negative, just that powerful presence I warned you about on the 14th floor," Mitsuru informed.

"Copy that. We're enroute to the staircase, ETA 4 minutes," Minato said before muting their comms.

The NCO slowed down and open his olive rucksack, revealing the small silver briefcase they'd plundered earlier. He motioned toward Junpei and the capped teen grinned in understanding. He opened the briefcase and began counting the stacks of paper hidden within.

"Woah, we got about 100,000 yen from those big ass gloves!" Junpei announced.

"And the FAK," Yukari chimed in.

Junpei nearly dropped the cash in his hands as he snickered at her.

"H-Hey! Careful with that!" She snapped.

"Hehe, sorry. You really gotta stop calling it that, though," he said.

She raised an eyebrow curiously.

"That's what Min-, er, Arisato said it was called," she said.

Their leader nodded in agreement. "FAK. First Aid Kit, that's the slang."

Junpei giggled and gave a knowing grin to both of them. "Yeah, but it kinda sounds like…"

Minato's eyes glazed robotically as he waited for him to explain while Yukari mouthed an 'o' in realization.

Junpei shook his head in dismissal. "Eh, forget about it."

He stuffed the briefcase back in Minato's ruck before zipping it up and readying his evoker.

* * *

The Rampage Drive stood between them and the final staircase. It's masked face stared blankly at them as they dispersed. Yukari and Minato ran off to the far corners of the room and Junpei stood at the center. He would've protested against the damn near suicidal position if his plate carrier hadn't been stuffed with Minato's spare aluminum sheet to offset his vulnerability.

Omoikane and Io stood at his flanks while Hermes patrolled overhead. Their towering presence put him at ease as he was forced to stare the massive metallic creature in front of him. Their previous encounter with the Venus Eagles left him with a feeling of growing dread. As big a game he talked, they could still die tonight. They'd gotten tougher since then, but this thing was made outta fucking metal. He put the thought aside as he readied his sword and awaited Minato's signal.

Minato sat down in a crouched position and lined up his sights carefully. He noticed Yukari notching a bodkin arrow in his peripheral vision and gave her a thumbs up. The brunette nodded and fired the arrow at the hulking creature. It's steel bodkin head pinged harmlessly off the creature's natural armor and the arrow's fiberglass shaft bent under the impact. Minato fired a volley of bullets only to have them bounce off the metallic body of the Rampage Drive.

"Hard target, don't use physical attacks!" He barked at his team before stowing his pistol and retrieving his evoker.

Yukari holstered her bow and crouched behind a pillar as she yelled out orders to Io. Junpei ordered Hermes to incinerate the shadow's legs meanwhile Omoikane's lightning kept it pinned in place. The shadow cried out in frustration and sent out a vicious volley of lightning bolts in the team's direction. Junpei dodged out of the way while Minato got struck directly by a one of the bolts, Yukari safely avoided the bolt sent towards her as the thick cement pillar absorbed the blow. His persona's natural immunity shielded Minato from the strike and left him with static hair as his only injury.

Yukari couldn't help but giggle at her NCO's new appearance as the Rampage Drive was being kept at bay by the constant onslaught of elemental attacks. Minato rolled his eyes and patted his hair back into place before having Omoikane send another wave of zio attacks.

The shadow was beginning to stagger from the constant abuse, it let out a sharp cry before trying to go on the offensive one last time. It swatted at Hermes, forcing the winged messenger to retreat to safety. It swiped Junpei with it's massive spiked arm. The teen tried to block the attack with his blade but the low quality steel snapped in half under the brute force of the strike. The spikes sharp point gouged the first layer of his plate carrier before knocking him back several feet. Minato had Omoikane bombard the shadow as Hermes swept down to shield his master and Io pushed it back with a sharp gale of wind.

The shadow collapsed and sent out a final torrent of lightning towards the team before getting burnt to ash by Hermes.

A bolt stuck Junpei in his leg as he tried to roll out of the way. He cried out as his body shook from the violent attack. A small entry wound appeared on his upper thigh and a fine red mist spurted from the large exit wound on his now partially melted boot. Io shielded Yukari as a bolt of lightning struck her head on. Her persona was violently bisected and Yukari collapsed to the floor, her body spasmed violently from the remnants of the shock. Omoikane absorbed the lightning bolt that was heading towards his master before scanning the room for additional hostiles.

Minato sprinted over to Yukari and felt for a pulse while Junpei shouted obscenities in the background. Her pulse was still strong and steady. He deduced that she was just unconscious and riffled through her plate carrier until he found the first aid kit she'd been carrying. He grabbed the kit and sprinted over to Junpei. He opened the kit and tied its tourniquet around Junpei's thigh before twisting it tightly.

"S-Shit man, any tighter and you'll frickin' amputate me!" Junpei cried.

Minato eased off and passed him some painkillers.

"Take these. This next part is gonna suck," he said grimly.

Junpei snatched the pills and swallowed them with a swig of his canteen before laying down on the cold tile floor.

"How's Yuka-tan doing?" He asked as he waited for the painkillers to kick in.

Minato spared another glance at her before returning to his first aid.

"She's unconscious, I couldn't find any superficial injuries," he informed before taking out his survival knife and gingerly cutting his comrades boot off.

Junpei took off his baseball cap and bit down on it as the melted plastic took some skin with it. Minato grimaced and continued his task as he did his best to minimize his friend's pain.

The boot slid off along with his bloody sock and Minato got a good look at the exit wound, it was a large cavity that appeared to have burst outward on the sole of his foot. Minato clean the area gently with a bottle of saline solution before having Omoikane cast Dia on his friend. The exit wound sealed completely and only left a small scorch mark on Junpei's upper thigh. He cast Dia again and the scorch mark disappeared completely.

"Fuuuuck that feels way better. Since when could you use that green healing spell crap that Yukari uses?" Junpei asked as he reached in his rucksack for his tennis shoes.

Minato shrugged. "I just get new personas with new powers every now and then. Can't really explain it."

"Why'd rip my boot off, anyways? Ya could've just used your persona," he noted.

"I didn't want your skin to grow around the plastic. That would've required surgery afterwards," Minato explained.

"...Thanks, I guess," Junpei mumbled.

Junpei put his headset back on as he finished tying his shoes.

"Yo! You should try it on Yuka-tan! Maybe it'll wake her up," he suggested.

Minato nodded and order his persona to cast Dia. After a brief flash of green, the brunette stirred and rolled over before yelping in pain. Minato and Junpei rushed to her side. The capped teen gently rolled her on her back as their NCO retrieved his evoker.

"Where's it hurt?" Minato asked as he scanned her for injuries.

"M-My left arm…" She winced out.

Minato gently rolled up the sleeve of her fatigues before uncovering deep purple bruising in her forearm.

He frowned. Memories of similar injuries from his cadet days filled his head.

"Best case scenario that's a fracture... Let me see what I can do." He punctuated his sentence by firing his evoker and summoning Omoikane.

He ordered the overgrown brain to cast Dia. The familiar green light enveloped her are as the bruising faded back to a light shade of red and reduced in size.

Yukari chuckled. "You getting tired out? It gets weaker as you lose more and more energy," she explained.

She took his evoker with her good arm and pressed it against her head before summoning Io to finish the job. The redness and swelling disappeared completely as she returned his evoker and got back on her feet with Junpei's help.

"You fall on your arm or something?" Junpei asked as he picked up some of the arrows that escaped her quiver.

She shrugged. "I dunno, I just woke up and it was broken."

"Sometimes your muscles can spasm so violently that they break the bones they're anchored to. That may have been the case here," Minato informed.

Junpei snorted. "They teach you medicine in Cadet training?"

"You don't know boredom until you read three medical journals _for fun_ ," he deadpanned.

"Y'know, Mitsuru-senpai is usually spamming our comms by now..." Yukari suddenly mentioned.

Minato blanched, he slowly reached for his radio and reactivated his team's comms.

"-SAP, ARISATO I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME!" Their CO's voice bellowed out.

Minato gulped as he lower his mic and activated his comms. "C1 we read you. 1 EKIA and two friendlies WIA. First aid has been applied. Fire team is combat ready and AFI."

"...Why didn't you respond to me earlier?" She asked with frustration clear in her voice.

Minato looked to his team for help. Junpei shrugged and Yukari activated her mic.

"Mitsu-... I mean, um, 'C1', our electronics went down when we got close to the shadow," she reported with her fingers crossed.

"Oh... I'll have to ask our engineers for some sort of counter measure then. Proceed with your operation," Mitsuru ordered.

Minato turned off their comms again but kept Mitsuru's channel open.

He sighed in relief before giving the brunette a theatrical bow. "Out-fucking-standing work, Takeba-san."

Yukari returned the bow before notching an arrow. Junpei took her cue and brandished his evoker. Minato ejected his magazine and slapped in a fresh one.

"Iori, look for briefcases. Takeba and I will find the staircase." He ordered.

The team nodded and dispersed.

* * *

Yukari and Minato walked along the long narrow corridors of the 14th floor. The distant sound of Junpei's heavy footsteps and the eerie wind of the Dark Hour filled the awkward silence between the two.

The NCO stowed his handgun after it became apparent that there weren't any hostiles nearby.

"Sorry about yesterday. That was completely out of line," he said as cringy memories filled his head..

She blushed and shook her head.

"N-No need to apologize. We were both at fault," she reassured.

He inwardly cringed as the events began to unfold in his mind all over again. His voice of reason had been stuck as a spectator ever since they drank that damn coffee.

* * *

The duo walked along the familiar strip mall on their way back home only to be struck with the powerful aroma of fried squid. The local Takoyaki stand was surrounded by local salarymen enjoying cold beer and fried squid after another brutal shift at work. Minato glanced at his watch and then to the brunette that accompanied him.

 _We should get going._

"We have an hour to get back. The dorm is a five minute walk away..." He pointed out.

 _Yep, so let's get going._

Yukari rummaged through her purse before pulling out 1300 yen.

"Found this on the corpse of one of the beetles. Think we should put it to good use right now?" She asked with a mischievous look in her eyes.

"Yukari-san, those are SEES funds and should only be used for operations," he chastised.

 _Atta' boy. Now quit being informal._

"I'm the one who killed it while you and Junpei kept pretending to help," she pouted.

Minato visibly flinched, the brunette's charms had seemed especially effective against him today and his usual stoic demeanor quickly crumbled.

 _Dammit soldier, keep it together!_

"Fine, but I'm paying," he said as he pulled out his wallet.

 _NO!_

Yukari rolled her eyes. "You're always so frugal, why are so eager to pay today?" She asked.

"Anyone who punches Sanada-senpai in the throat and lives to tell about it deserves some takoyaki," he said as he dug out a 1000 yen note.

 _That's 5% of your networth!_

He led her past the horde of drunken salarymen and placed the note on the stall's counter.

"Two orders, please," he called out to the cook.

 _You've ruined us._

A hand quickly took the bill and after some cursing and clanging two plastic trays were presented in front of them along with his change. Yukari shrugged and grabbed the trays as Minato scooped his change up and looked for seats. He led her to a bench that had yet to be defiled by the salarymen and took his tray from her.

Yukari finished one of the takoyaki balls before giving her NCO a curious look. "Sooo, you joining the archery club?" She asked, "One of our team members transferred to Kyoto and the manager has been hounding me to find a replacement."

 _No, boxing and kendo are more practical. Now. Go. Home._

"I've considered it, it has one key advantage over the other clubs but seeing as I use a gun it's not that practical." He said between bites.

 _Precisely._

Her interest piqued. "And what's that key advantage?" She asked as she leaned in closer.

 _Stay. Professional._

"There's a pretty hot chick on the team, can't remember her name though...I think it starts with a 'Y'." He said with a sly grin.

 _I want off this ride._

Yukari blushed before boldly scooting towards the teen, a tactic only conceivable after two cups of pheromone coffee.

"Would I know her?" She purred.

 _No._

Minato shook as he tried to stay straight-faced and nodded, "I-I think I remember her name…"

 _DONT._

Yukari leaned in until their faces were inches apart and looked at him expectantly.

Minato tried to compose himself to no avail. "H-Her name is...Yuko Nishiwaki." He uttered out.

 _Damn good save._

The bug eyed look on Yukari's face sent Minato over the edge as he hunched over laughing. The brunette huffed as Minato tried to calm himself, with a few deep inhales and exhales he managed to get some of his stoic demeanor back.

"I heard she has a boyfriend." Yukari said with her arms crossed over her chest.

 _Good for her._

Minato held his heart in mock pain. "What a shame, next thing I know you're gonna tell me that cute brunette girl is taken too," he grimaced.

 _I'm kicking our ass when we get home._

Her faded blush returned in full force and she punched his arm playfully. "So what if she was, what would you do about it?" She sassed.

 _Remember the no fraternization rule._

"I'd sic the fire team on the unfortunate man." He deadpanned.

 _No you wouldn't._

Yukari was cut off by Minato's cell phone, he looked at the caller ID before freezing. He slowly opened his flip phone and place it against his ear.

"Kirijo-senpai?" He asked cautiously.

A stern voice greeted the teen and the previous playfulness vanished from him entirely.

"Y-Yes ma'am. We're on our way," he mumbled out before closing the phone and standing up.

"We have four minutes before she has the locks changed." He said before grabbing the brunette's hand and taking off at a run towards their dorm.

* * *

Minato facepalmed as the cringe hit him again with full force.

"So unprofessional…" He whispered.

"You say something?" Yukari asked as she waved Junpei over. The capped teen had a silver briefcase in each hand.

He shook his head motioned towards the hallway.

"Let's find that staircase and get the hell outta here." He ordered.

* * *

"C1, we found the barricade. Our ordnance isn't denting it," Minato reported.

"Copy that fire team, RV at the FOB. An exit point should be nearby."

Minato led his team to the glowing green teleporter and after a brief flash they were back in Tartarus's lobby. As usual their CO began to interrogate the team on their injuries. Minato slipped past her scrupulous gaze and retrieved a can of soda from their supply crate.

 _The Dark Hour can transform the entire fucking ocean into blood but good ol' Cielo Mist and bottled water transition just fine._

He took a sip of the lukewarm beverage and sat on an ammo crate as he watched the mesmerizing glimmer of the velvet door. The can in his hand felt significantly lighter by the time Mitsuru had taken a seat on the supply crate adjacent to him.

"I'm impressed Sergeant Major, you've come back mutilated to some degree after every operation. Is your luck turning around?" She asked as she took off her officer's cap. He'd gotten it for her as a gift shortly after their chat on Saturday. She kept her word and never even hinted at that topic again during their scarce conversations.

"We addressing each other by ranks now?" He asked.

She shrugged. "The handbook recommended it..."

"Ah yes, the 'fraternization' section. Since we're not bound by oath I'd recommend keeping that specific thing to a minimum. I've caught myself using it with Sanada-senpai, but it's...dehumanizing? Don't mean to overstate it, but the SDF and other military's use it for ease of communications with their entire network; not so much for conversations," He explained.

"That adds some valuable context... I'm only working with what was given," she said.

"Back on topic though, they can only break me so many times before they get bored," he said with a shrug.

She offered him a faint smile. "We can only hope. I've secured some new connections for Kurosawa along with additional capital for SEES. With the assets you've recovered here you should be able to bolster our firepower significantly."

"No more industrial age weapons?" He asked in disbelief.

"I guarantee at least post Franco-Prussian war equipment from now on," she said sarcastically.

He nodded. "Good enough for me."


	11. Chapter 11

**AN:** Sorry if the quality is extra crappy, I've spent the last couple of days with a Ti-84+ for company so the creative juices might not have been flowing. If any of you creative writing majors have any tips, go ahead and PM me or some shit. I'm gonna start picking up the pace so I don't end up writing 950,000 words by the time Aigis shows up.

Terms you may be unfamiliar with:

-L16 mortar: Heavy ass metal tube that shoots grenades.

-Type-64: Battle rifle, looks kinda like an FN-FAL.

-PASGT: Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops, essentially a thick water-repellent bullet proof vest. It's soft armor so it doesn't have any of the heavy duty ceramic or steel plates most military's use.

-MEDEVAC: Essentially an airborne ambulance.

-PX: Post Exchange, the closest thing to a Walmart on base.

-BDU: Battle Dress Uniform, camo you usually see troops wearing in movies.

-MEPS: Military Entrance Processing Station. Where they run tests on you, test you with the ASVAB, and let you pick a job before shipping you off.

-ASVAB: Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, it's sorta like the SAT (or GCSE ) for the military. It shows the brass what jobs you're ideal for.

-WZ-10: Pretty badass Chinese attack helicopter.

-MLRS: Multiple Launch Rocket System, just a vehicle that can shoot more than one rocket.

-CFB: Clear as a Fucking Bell.

-E&E: Escape and Evade.

-Klick: Kilometer

Last Edited: 05/25/16, changed some shit to improve the flow of the story.

* * *

 **The Coming Storm**

The 30 kilo rucksack was proving to be too much for the young cadet, what had felt like a reasonable load twenty minutes ago was now threatening to invert his spine. It was a far cry from the load he had to carry a few days ago, their instructor had them disassemble their L16 mortars and he'd been stuck carrying the 10 kilo base plate in addition to his usual load under a scorching 37C sun.

The hot and humid 35C air of today had already caused a quarter of his platoon to get pulled aside for potential heatstroke and dehydration, not that their Sergeant gave a damn. He jogged alongside them, cool and comfortable in his cammies as they were stuck lugging around their suffocating body armor and Type-64's. The rifle's already generous 4.4 kilo steel frame was complemented by a cement filled practice barrel and a magazine full of inert ammunition. The only mercy extended to the cadets had been the absence of their steel helmets that usually complemented their PASGT.

Minato had never been one to complain, but after their first summer hump he'd vocalized his grievances to his foster father. He had listened to him intently before bursting out in laughter and telling him that he'd done 8 hour construction shifts under mortar fire in the brutal 44C Iraqi sun for six months. His foster mother also showed little sympathy, she'd done weeks of MEDEVAC training in the brutally humid Philippine jungles with ANZAC and US forces.

The only solace Minato could find was the constant reminder that nothing was permanent, despite the stifling heat and heavy load, he only had to soldier on for a few more minutes. "The only thing stopping you is yourself", his Cadet Lieutenant would constantly remind them as he sent them off to PT and stayed behind chatting with the enlisted men. Minato wiped the thick sweat off his brow and polished off the rest of his canteen before picking up his pace and getting back in formation. He felt a gentle tap on his shoulder and turned his head to face a sweaty cadet.

"Psst, you torrent those games for us yet? We got you the prepaid card from the PX already." Whispered his fellow cadet. He was almost a head taller than Minato, his gaunt lanky frame was ill suited for bearing weight on these long jogs as evidenced by the thick sweat stains on his forest BDU.

He nodded before responding between ragged breaths, "Yeah...I got 'em."

"DID I JUST FUCKING CATCH TWO CADETS TALKING AND JOGGING!?" Bellowed out their Sergeant.

"No sir!" They quickly replied in unison.

* * *

The cool air conditioning of their barracks offered a reprieve from the summer heat for the cadets. Minato and the rest of the artillery team rested their sore legs on their bunks as they enjoyed their down time.

"Hey Arisato, you ever gonna cut that hair or are you planning to keep lookin' like a faggot till MEPS?" Asked his cadet Sergeant First Class. The other cadets shared a laugh, most of them had shaved their heads after reaching the rank of "Cadet Leading Private" as a tradition. He'd already passed up three chances at promotion just to keep himself from joining the buzz cut club.

Minato flipped off the cadet. "Fuck off Ogawa, I might just forget to activate your VPN next time you want to jack off to furry porn on the base's wifi." He threatened.

The cadet blushed in embarrassment as his fellow NCO's began laughing at his expense. He marched up to Minato before grabbing his collar and raising him from his seat forcefully.

"Listen here you fucking chevron, don't go spreading rumors!" He whispered brusquely.

Minato restrained the urge to punch the man and gave him a nod. The cadet let go of his collar before returning to his group.

"Just wash your fucking hands next time you grab me." Minato muttered under his breath.

He grabbed his laptop from his bunk and took off to the only place that granted him solace.

* * *

The librarian greeted him as he enter the small but air conditioned building with a small wave that the young cadet returned before retreating to his usual hiding spot. He'd taken refuge in one of the computer labs for the past couple of days since they began their artillery meet and greet. The troops stationed here ignored him for the most part, only occasionally calling him a "fucking cadidiot" and making him clean or do other menial tasks. He could live with it, the amount of business he was getting from them and his fellow cadets from torrenting games and setting up VPN's was more than enough to offset the mil-spec hazing.

He booted up his laptop and continued with his Python courses. He knew damn well he wasn't going to college, but on the off chance he wasn't killed by Chinese troops within the next decade, it wouldn't hurt to carry some help desk certifications in his resume.

Programming wasn't his favorite discipline, far from it, but whenever he was "in the zone" and the lines of code started coming naturally to him he felt closer to his father. He'd been a Software Engineer for some local investment firm before his untimely death. Minato vaguely remembered sitting in his office and coloring on his fax paper while he typed away on an IBM desktop, something about the compiling of code on his laptop helped bring those memories back more vividly.

"Didn't know they let you become a bullet sponge if you scored above 30 on the ASVAB." A familiar feminine voice quipped.

Minato closed his laptop and turned to face the brunette behind him.

"C'mon, I'm not a bullet sponge. I have _some_ ambition." He joked.

She shook her head and pulled a chair from the nearby computer desks before sitting in front of him. Her brown hair was tucked under a cadet beret and her flecktarn cammies were embellished with red cross insignias. He'd only known her for a few days but given the brutally boring nature of their training they'd been spending every minute of their down time together.

"Yeah right, you're gonna be canned food for the WZ-10's. Real ambitious there Arisato." She chided.

He shrugged, "MLRS isn't too shabby, you gotta know a little bit of algebra to get considered."

"Yet your nerdy ass is in here either programming or reading physiology books." She said before pointing to herself, "I'm the one who's supposed to be into all this anatomy shit, why aren't you going into Electronic Defense or Medical?"

He leaned closer and made sure they were alone before answering her, "I might get treated like shit sometimes but those guys in my platoon are my brothers, we might swing at each other but I wouldn't want anyone else by side when shit hits the fan. We've trained together for years and I don't plan on ditching them for a higher pay grade."

She sighed and leaned back against her chair. "I get that, I really do, but I've _never_ heard you talk about rockets or physics or any of that other arty bullshit. What's the point of picking an MOS that you don't enjoy if you're just gonna be stuck doing it for a decade?" She argued.

He frowned. "I like medicine as a discipline, I just...I can't handle death. From a pragmatic biological sense? Yeah, I get it. Trophic levels, biomes, carrying capacities, all that shit. Holding an artery shut as your buddy cries out for his mother? That fucks me up. MLRS has the courtesy of keeping me 3 kilometers away from the combat while helping on the front lines." He explained.

"Why not IT then? Keep their comms running, fix their tank computers, that type of shit." She asked.

"I fucking hate IT. Yeah, it's useful as hell but if I had to work on our Windows 2000 servers for a decade I'd probably blow my brains out. I'd be interested in signing on as a programmer if the education stipend was more generous, but as it stands we can barely pay for the academy even with my foster's military benefits. I don't see a 4 year computer science degree in my future." He pointed out.

She got off her seat and stood in front of him at parade rest. "You should wake up." She said.

Minato gave her a perplexed look. "Huh? Where did that come from?" He asked.

"You said you were gonna take us gear shopping, c'mon get up." She nagged as she motioned her head towards the door of the computer lab.

* * *

Minato jumped out of his seat as he felt a sharp poke at his side. He scanned the empty classroom with bleary eyes, Yukari and Junpei stood near his seat, the latter was holding a suspicious protractor that was most likely the culprit behind the stinging he felt in his side.

"You could've shaken me." He said as he rubbed the drowsiness from his eyes.

"Duh, we've been doing that for like two minutes." Junpei groaned before smirking, "I get it though, you were just having a steamy dream. It happens to the best of us."

"My dreams are my concern Iori-san, you can project your browser history on someone else." He deadpanned before grabbing his backpack.

"Not everyone is as perverted as you Stupei." Yukari teased.

Junpei brushed her comment aside. "Yeah, at least I ain't the one drawin' little hearts around a certain someone's name instead of taking notes." He snickered.

The brunette chucked a pen at their capped friend as her cheeks fired up. "I DID NO SUCH THING!" She yelled as she reached out to strangle the teen.

Minato strolled up to them and gingerly pried the brunette's hands from Junpei's throat before stepping in between the duo.

"Let's head to the police station before Odagiri gets me booted off of student council." He said as he gestured to the door.

Yukari groaned, "Why'd you join the student council, you didn't even check out the archery or boxing teams."

Minato stifled a chuckle. "I was voluntold, Kirijo-senpai had the paperwork filled out and turned in by the time she asked me to join." He explained.

"Woah...and you're cool with that?" Junpei asked.

Minato nodded, "She pays for all my expenses, I'm not exactly in a position to be making complaints. Plus, she just wants me check in a few times a month. Not exactly a tough commitment to keep up."

He turned to face the brunette. "And I'm still gonna check out the archery club, I suppose a silent ranged alternative could come in handy." He said.

* * *

"Hey Kurosawa-san, what's up?" Junpei greeted as the fire team walked into the police station. The officer sighed and motioned for Minato to come up.

He placed the ledger in front of the team's leader and spoke, "My spare time is scarce this entire week now that cases of apathy syndrome are spiking. You need to make a dent in whatever's causing all this. I've got a lot of new stock in so buy up."

Minato looked over the ledger, a few items caught his eye and he started mulling over different budget plans in his head. _The bulletproof shirts are non-negotiable. The 40lb compound bow sounds pretty good, I'll have to ask Takeba if she can handle the draw weight first though. Iori needs a sword, that's non-negotiable. I don't_ _ **need**_ _the .357 revolver, but good god do I want it._

"Takeba-san, can you use a 40 pound bow?" He asked.

She nodded, "Yeah, anything less than seventy pounds I can handle. After that I can't really hold it at full draw for very long."

He turned to Kurosawa. "We'll take the bow, bastard sword, and four bulletproof shirts...How much cash will I have to add if I trade my P220 for that Taurus 608?" He asked as he placed the briefcase Mitsuru had given him on the counter.

"Throw in 10,000 yen and it's yours. I'll need to confiscate the conversion kit and your munitions, can't have anyone find bullets in a high school dorm after this blows over." Kurosawa said.

Minato frowned, he wasn't looking forward to having anything taken out of his stockpile.

"Can't we just turn them in after we eliminate the threat? We occasionally find equipment in the field, I don't want ammo availability to be a problem." He proposed.

Kurosawa furrowed his brow in contemplation before finally conceding. "Alright, but I have a log of everything you buy so don't try and hold out on me...You want hollow point or magnum rounds?" He asked while holding up two cartons of .357 ammo.

"Magnum, hard targets have become a growing problem." Minato said without skipping a beat.

Kurosawa let out a small chuckle. "Alright kid, just don't come crying to me when you break your wrists." He snickered.

* * *

"Hey." The voice of a familiar child called out.

Minato groaned as he sat up on his bed, the morning workout with Akihiko had been especially draining and managed to knock him out during Ekoda's lecture. He wasn't about to be robbed of another good night's sleep by a pre-teen prison ghost.

"You need something?" He asked while stifling a yawn.

The child teleported to the foot of his bed before plopping down on his mattress. "There will be a full moon next week, a new ordeal awaits you…" He said ominously.

"A new ordeal? Shit…So we need to be ready for it in one week?" He asked while subconsciously clearing his schedule of everything but tartarus operations.

The kid nodded, "When the moon grows full your greatest challenges will emerge. Prepare yourself, time is of the essence."

With that, the ghost child disappeared. Minato sunk back into his mattress and got to brainstorming.

* * *

Yukari sat down with Minato and helped him string his practice bow. Their team prodigy, Kazushi Miyamoto, tapped his feet impatiently as he waited to see what their newest recruit was capable of. Yuko Nishiwaki walked around their range and recorded their scores while throwing the trio an occasional glance.

"So you've never used a bow before?" Kazushi asked in disbelief.

Minato shook his head.

The athlete groaned, "Ugh, Yukari, I wasn't serious when I said anyone would do. I was hoping for someone who had at least fired one before."

"Give him a shot Kaz, he's a quick learner." Yukari said.

Minato stood with his newly strung bow and a hip mounted quiver.

"Let's get this over with." He said dryly as he walked up to the range. The only thing keeping him from collapsing was the dose of adderall he'd taken in the morning and he was in no mood for any of this, not after that cryptic warning he'd received.

Kaz and Yuko stood near him, eagerly awaiting to see what their new member could bring to the table. Yukari drew her practice bow and Minato mimicked her posture. She released her arrow and landed a shot in one of the red circles.

"Eight points, not bad at all." Yuko commented as she jotted down the brunette's score.

Minato stood up straight and emptied his lungs before lining up the foreign weapon as best he could before releasing his arrow. The shot landed in the outermost blue ring of the target.

"Five points, pretty good seeing as you've never done this before." Yuko complimented.

"Yeah it's decent for a beginner but we can't settle for decent with the tournament being so close." Kaz grumbled.

Minato rolled his eyes and fired an arrow with a half-assed stance. The arrow flew in a wild arch before landing dead center in the target. He stared blankly at the target before firing his two other arrows in the same fashion, they twisted around haphazardly before digging into the center of the target.

Yukari's eyes widened. "How the f-" She whispered before getting cut off by Kazushi.

"Arisato, my man! Welcome to the team." Kaz happily exclaimed as he put his arm around Minato's shoulders. The athlete dragged him off to their storage room to fetch him a uniform.

"Good find Yukari." Yuko commented as she closed her journal and leaned against the wall opposite to her.

"Yeah, I had a feeling he'd be good at this. I'm just worried that Kaz is gonna push him too hard, he's already got a pretty busy schedule." She mentioned.

"I'll keep an eye on them, Kaz may get overzealous at times but he means well." Yuko promised.

* * *

"We're going to Tartarus tonight, I want you suited up by 11pm." Minato ordered.

The teens lounging in the lobby groaned audibly, no doubt still feeling the effects of Akihiko's weight room workout. Yukari nodded begrudgingly and went up to her room to retrieve her fatigues. Junpei sunk deeper in his armchair and did his best to look invisible. Every consecutive trip led to Minato and Yukari improving their skills and taking out more enemies, but Junpei felt increasingly obsolete. His injuries were getting worse with each operation and his contribution to their firepower seemed to be dwindling.

Minato plopped down on the couch adjacent to the teen. "You're usually the most eager to go out in the field. Something happen?" He asked.

 _My fuckin' foot exploded last time._

"I dunno, I just don't feel up to it today." Junpei said nonchalantly.

Minato nodded respectfully and leaned in his seat. "Your assistance will greatly aid us but I won't make you enter the AO if you aren't at 100%. I still want you suited up and ready. Bring some homework or something to pass the time while Takeba-san and I get some practice in. You never know when something will come up and we'll need all hands on deck." He instructed.

 _You tryin' to take pity on me? Fuck off._

"The hell do you even need me for? All I ever do is bleed out while you and Akihiko play hero and the chicks swoon over you." Junpei spat.

Minato's face switched from concerned to stern within seconds. "If I didn't think you were an asset to SEES I'd have booted you from the team. If you're just not feeling up to it today that's fine, but don't put our lives at risk because you feel inadequate." He hissed.

"Yeah, big talk comin' from Mr. Fucking Perfect here. Nothing ever phases you does it? You just take it like a freakin' machine!" Junpei yelled.

"I get scared too Junpei! I just found a way to cope with the fear. If you can't do that pack your fucking bags and forget all of this ever happened!" Minato barked.

 _Fuck you I just might!_

 _...But anything beats living_ _ **him**_ _._

Junpei stared at the table for what felt like hours before finally nodding.

"Alright...I'll suit up." He whispered.

* * *

"Arisato, I overheard your-" Mitsuru stopped herself as a pungent odor filled her lungs. She paused to gag before looking at the teen sitting on the rooftop. He was wearing a kitchen apron and disposable gloves along with a white disposable respirator. In front of him were several torn cold packs and rolled up newspapers, a few of them were soaking in a clear plastic bin while another pile was laid out to dry.

"Should I be breathing any of this?" She asked through the thin fabric of her blouse.

The teen shrugged. "It's perfectly safe to inhale, just smells awful." He said through his respirator. He reached into his pocket and chucked her a spare. She deftly caught it and hurriedly put it on before standing next to the teen.

"What are you making?" She asked as she stared at the suspicious liquid in the tub.

"Ammonium nitrate smoke bombs." He replied with a hint of excitement in his voice.

She smiled at his enthusiasm. "I never took you for a chemist, is this something you learned in class?" She asked.

Minato shook his head as he took out a batch of the newspapers. "I learned this in cadet training. The riflemen stole our barracks TV so we smoked them out and took it back using our M40 masks." He recanted.

"I hope you won't resort to the same tactics should something go missing on or off campus." She teased.

He laid the last batch out to dry before sealing the foul liquid in its airtight tub.

"No promises ma'am." He quipped.

Mitsuru shook her head and let out a small laugh. "We're off duty right now, no need to be so formal." She said.

Minato stood at attention and straightened his posture as best he could.

He nodded curtly, "Understood ma'am."

The aristocrat facepalmed and waved him off. "Get this cleaned up, I'm going to prepare our armaments. We'll discuss your conversation with Iori some other time." She ordered before removing her respirator and retreating into the dorm.

* * *

Minato loaded the last of the hefty magnum rounds into his new Taurus revolver and slipped it into his holster. Yukari was geared up and ready to go but Junpei was barely slipping on his plate carrier. Minato walked up to his friend before placing a hand on his shoulder.

"You alright Iori?" He whispered.

Junpei gulped, "Yeah...Never better." The fear etched on his face betrayed the false bravado he wanted to project.

"Alright, I trust you. If you think you're not good to go you're free to sit this one out." Minato cautioned before patting him on the back. He didn't blame the Junior, he'd be sweating too if the anti-depressant in his system wasn't forcing him to stay calm.

Mitsuru stood regally with her black trench coat that covered her olive fatigues and the officer's cap he'd given her. Akihiko flanked her, the boxer was wearing his officer's beret and plate carrier as he did his best to complement the aristocrat's pose.

The aristocrat surveyed the team before clearing her throat."This operation was assembled on short notice, as such I won't be the one briefing you. Arisato, if you would."

"Of course, today we're going to run a search and destroy operation in the thirteenth floor. I've repaired our headsets so you'll come in CFB Kirijo-senpai." He debriefed.

"CFB? That's a new one...I get the feeling some of these acronyms aren't in the handbook." Mitsuru mused.

Minato scratched his head nervously before glancing at the entrance of Tartarus.

"Disregard that last acronym." He said before stowing his gear and corralling his team behind him. The teen climbed up the stairs of tartarus with his team in tow before Mitsuru could interrogate him further.

* * *

Yukari swept up the Grave Beetle with a garu attack while Junpei hacked off one of its legs with his new blade. Minato lined up his revolver's sights and fired a powerful magnum round at it's small armored head. The 142 grain bullet smashed through the shadow's thick chitin; the round traveled down it's cranium and punched clean through its skull splattering the tile with chunky yellow blood. The revolver's powerful recoil left Minato's wrists sore as he lowered the firearm.

"Two new contacts inbound on your position." Mitsuru reported.

A cowardly maya ran into their line of sight before freezing at the sight of the eviscerated beetle. It tried to run away but to no avail, a broadhead arrow dug into it's back and pinned it to the tile floor. The blob let out a small squeal before reducing to ichor. Minato heard a wet, crunchy noise from behind him. He spun on his heel and saw an obsessed cupid cut up into halves at the feet of Junpei. He gave the swordsman a thumbs up before stowing his revolver.

His team plundered the corpses of the slain shadows, pocketing the occasional wad of cash or munitions that they carried with them. Minato ejected the spent casing in his new revolver before sliding in a new round and resting against the granite wall of Tartarus. He closed his eyes and focused on the sounds of banter between his team and the cool breeze of the Dark Hour. Yukari was trading quips with their capped friend, his previous fear seemingly gone after their twenty minute training trip. Their back and forth was slowly being overtaken by a faint but clear sound of rattling chains that began to echo in the distance. Minato's adrenaline gland kicked into action and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up.

"C1, we hear something about a quarter klick away. You have eyes?" Minato asked anxiously into his headset.

"Negative...I sense something powerful though. E&E, this is far more powerful than anything I've ever sensed." She ordered.

"Affirmative, fire team is pulling out." He replied before gathering his team.

Minato raised his revolver before turning his head to face the fire team. "You heard that rattling right? C1 says we should pick up sticks." He said.

Junpei's face turned grim. "You think it's that... 'thing' we fought on our first op?" He asked as his whole body tensed up.

"Whatever it is, it spooked Mitsuru." Yukari mentioned as she notched an arrow.

* * *

The team swept the corridors quickly as they raced to find the teleporter. As the rattling of chains grew closer and closer, Yukari's breaths were getting shakier and Minato's heart struggled to supply his legs with enough blood to satiate them. Junpei was constantly looking behind them as they jogged through the hallways with his blade at the ready.

Eventually the comforting glow of the teleporter emanated from a nearby hallway. They turned the corner only to encounter a trio of gloves that cut them off from their escape. Minato wasted no time and whipped out his revolver, he squeezed the trigger and tore a large hole in the metacarpals of the centermost glove. One of the gloves chucked a sharp shard of ice at Yukari in retribution for it's slain comrade; it shattered harmlessly off her aluminum plate carrier and the angered archer fired a steel tipped broadhead arrow that skewered the shadow to the floor as it let out a dying groan. Junpei cut the last glove in half with his bastard sword and kicked its corpse across the hall.

A deafening gunshot rang out and a large crater appeared near their feet, sharp ceramic fragments sprayed the fire team and left them coughing as the cloud of debris coated their fatigues. The Reaper let out a deep laugh from behind them and calmly walked towards the trio. It fired its enormous revolver's all around the fire team and toyed with them whenever they tried to flee.

Minato spat out the small chunks of tile that made their way into his mouth and fired a magnum round at the shadow, the powerful full metal jacket bullet dug a few millimeters into the shadow's flesh before bouncing off harmlessly. The Reaper kept one gun trained on them as it reached out to their leader with his rotten hand. Junpei and Yukari stood frozen in fear as the towering shadow got closer and closer.

Plans raced through the teen's mind as he tried to examine their situation objectively. _We can't hurt it, it doesn't want to kill us outright...fuck it, I gotta take a chance on this._

"Get ready to run!" Minato muttered as he reached into his plate carrier and lit one of his rolled up newspapers before quickly tossing it at the shadow's feet.

Thick white smoke rapidly enveloped the Reaper and the team bolted to the teleporter as the shadow fired blindly into the hallway. After a brief flash the fire team fell face first into the lobby, Mitsuru and Akihiko raced to them and helped them up while bombarding them with questions. Junpei shrugged Akihiko off and laid down on top of their supply crate, he covered his face with his cap while whispering obscenities. Yukari was trembling slightly as Mitsuru helped her to her feet, she mumbled something incoherent before walking away to take a seat on the stairs. Minato dusted himself off and faced his senpai.

"We're far too weak, I couldn't dent that shadow and I doubt my persona's would've done much to it." He stated, "We need to train again tomorrow."

Mitsuru frowned. "Is that wise? Everyone needs R&R, exams are also coming up so we need time to study." She argued.

Minato motioned Akihiko over before huddling with his CO's. "I have it on _very_ good authority that something powerful is coming soon." He whispered.

She glanced at him skeptically.

"Who's your source?" She questioned.

 _A ghost kid that only I can see and only appears at night._

"...My persona." He said.

Akihiko scratched his head as he tried to digest that information. "Your persona told you that? Which one?" He asked.

Minato paused to think before answering the boxer. "You remember that trenchcoat wearing one during my first battle? The one with the huge blade? He can talk to me sometimes, and he's never been wrong."

He gauged their reactions carefully, not expecting his gamble to pay off. Akihiko mulled it over for a few seconds before looking at Mitsuru for guidance. The aristocrat looked deep in thought before turning to the NCO and giving him a nod.

"You've risked life and limb for our cause, you have my trust." She affirmed.

Guilt washed over Minato, he'd lost track of how many times he'd bent the truth to his CO and it left him feeling sick to know that she placed this much trust in him.

"...Thank you, Mitsuru." He said with a bow before leaving to check up on his fire team.

* * *

"You alright Iori?" Minato asked as he sat on an ammo box adjacent to the supply crate.

"Level with me man, I didn't piss my pants did I?" Junpei whispered through the cap obscuring his face.

Minato looked at the teens pants, the olive drab fabric was coated in white ceramic powder and small tears from the shrapnel, a few wet crimson stains adorned the crotch and upper thighs of the fabric.

"You're good in that department, might need some band aids though." He whispered back.

Junpei snickered, "Heh, guess I got that goin' for me."

He shared a small laugh with the teen before leaning in. "Seriously though, you good?"

Junpei chuckled before removing the cap that obscured his face. "Nope. You're right though... We need to get stronger. I may not show it all the time, but I like SEES. I'll find a way to get rid of the shakes if it means staying on the team."

The serious response caught Minato off-guard; Junpei was usually either extremely jovial or thoroughly pissed. Seeing him act more level-headed was a welcome change.

"We're going on another extermination run tomorrow. Be ready by midnight." Minato instructed.

Junpei frowned before flashing a competitive grin. "Alright, I'll be ready. Don't wuss out on us, kay?" He teased.

The NCO rolled his eyes and stood, stopping to wipe away the thick powder coating his uniform before leaving to check up on their archer.

* * *

He set his rucksack down and took a seat next to Yukari. She looked far better than she had when they originally returned to the lobby. The thick ceramic powder that covered her uniform had been mostly patted away and only a few small tears in the sleeve of her fatigues remained. She was gazing at the green sky of the Dark Hour through one of the open arches of Tartarus, seemingly deep in thought.

"How you holdin' up?" He asked he undid the thick velcro of his plate carrier.

The brunette turned to face him and gave him a tired smile. "I'm alright now, all the adrenaline is starting to wear out...How about you?" She asked, "Our senpai usually talk us through things like this after a mission, but you just go straight to your room and act like nothing happened the next day."

Minato looked away from her as he contemplated different lies in his head that might sate her curiosity. _How about you tell the truth you piece of shit?_ He brushed the thought away; the truth was far too personal to disclose.

"I'm a private man, sharing that type of information... just doesn't come naturally." Minato divulged before chuckling.

"That makes me a pretty big hypocrite doesn't it?" He snickered.

She shook her head and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"That just means you care about us." She reassured.

"Ugh, this ain't one of your novels Yuka-tan." Junpei groaned.

Just like that, the moment was gone and his two team members went right back to bickering with each other like they hadn't almost died. Minato got up and joined Akihiko as he surveyed the scene.

"This kinda takes me back to the old SEES. Our old member and I used to get at each other's throats when Mitsuru had her back turned on us." Akihiko commented.

"I take it there was less olive drab back then?" Minato quipped.

"Yeah, everyday was casual friday back then." Akihiko replied before leaning in to whisper, "I caught Mitsuru looking at uniforms online. Brace yourself for a change in the dress code."

Minato gulped, "What are you thinking?"

Akihiko made sure Mitsuru was out of earshot before speaking in a hushed tone, "Big Kirijo Group trademarks on all our gear."


	12. Chapter 12

**AN:** Alright, finally got past this point. I'll get into some of that fluffy YukarixMinato shit people like in the next chapter and probably get Fuuka's intro outta the way. Or I'll fuck it up and end up writing 3 smaller chapters in-between finals.

Terms you may not know:

Leading Private-The SDF equivalent of Corporal.

Last updated: 05/26/14, I added about 400 words of content and fleshed out some of the dialogue.

* * *

 **The Priestess**

With a loud bark from his revolver, the battle came to an end. Torn chitin and viscous yellow fluid coated the formerly pristine tile floor of Tartarus as the last of the beetles collapsed. Minato lowered his gun and slipped it into it's now well-worn holster as his teammates reached for their canteens. He left them to their business and lowered his mic before updating Mitsuru.

"C1, three EKIA's. Fire team is ready to engage, any new targets for us?" He asked.

"Arisato, perhaps you should call it a night." Mitsuru suggested.

He looked his team, Junpei's uniform was coated in ichor and the teen looked half asleep. Yukari's hair was beginning to take on an unkempt appearance and the bags under her eyes were a testament to her exhaustion.

He sighed at their sorry state and hailed Mitsuru on his comms. "Takeba and Iori need a break. I'll have them RV to the FOB and continue on my own."

His radio chimed in almost immediately, "Negative, return to the FOB. We can't risk individual expeditions."

"You agreed to giving me full control of operations, I'm invoking that power." Minato stated matter-of-factly.

"Don't test me _Sergeant Major_ , now's not the time to take undue risk." She snapped.

The teen winced at her emphasis on his rank. Not only did that bring back memories of being thoroughly chewed out by higher ranking cadets and enlisted men, but it reminded him that he'd knowingly and willingly place himself lower on the pecking order than the aristocrat.

He refused to swallow his pride and turn in. If the little bastard was right, they were a day away from fighting their toughest adversary.

"I'm killing this thing by any means necessary. If the team needs rest that's fine, but don't hold me back." He said with renewed confidence.

* * *

A long pause filled the room as the NCO and their leader refused to budge. Yukari looked at Junpei for his input, the capped teen was glaring at their NCO with anger she'd never seen him hold for anyone else.

"You think you're so much better than us don't you?" She caught him whispering.

The teen had been on edge after their third consecutive expedition. While he had been quiet for the most part; she could notice the annoyed expression his face would take on every time Minato gave him an order. Truth be told, the training _and_ the morning exercise had begun to take it's toll on her.

Despite her best efforts to grin and bear it like a Roman stoic would, Minato's growing obsession with hunting shadows had overshadowed their need for rest. She hadn't socialized with her friends for days and every morning she'd have to force herself to get up in order to meet his ridiculous standards.

Junpei sheathed his blade and started walking towards the nearby teleporter.

"You heard the boss, lets go. _He_ clearly doesn't need our help." He spat.

She sighed deeply and shook her head.

"I can't let him go out on his own; get Akihiko-senpai over here and see if he can't talk some sense into Minato." Yukari instructed.

Junpei brushed her off and walked away. "I ain't your errand boy, go do it yourself." He said as he entered the teleporter.

 _Was he always such a dick?_ She sighed and flipped the teen off behind his back.

By the time she turned around Minato was long gone, the sound of his footsteps slowly faded by the minute. She reached for her mic and contacted Mitsuru on a private line while the thundering echo of Minato's revolver filled the background.

"Mitsuru-senpai? I'm still on-site. Think you can send Akihiko-senpai over?" Yukari asked, "I'm gonna try to reason with him but we might have to drag him back."

A pause filled the air before her headset crackled to life. "...Sanada is enroute. Arisato is aggravated right now, try not to exacerbate things." Mitsuru replied coldly.

* * *

The beetle reeled back and charged the teen, it's sharp horn soared towards his abdomen before being skillfully parried by Berith's trident. The knight held the beast down while Minato lined up his iron sights and fired two magnum rounds into it's skull. The shadow's body jerked violently before slumping to the floor, a sensation of power and euphoria filled the teen as he and Berith gained strength from slaying the creature.

"1 Friendly inbound, watch your fire." Mitsuru's voice suddenly called out.

Minato dismissed Berith with a snap of his fingers and holstered his revolver. The sound of boots on tile grew progressively louder until Yukari appeared from across the corner. Her evoker was at the ready despite her sagging shoulders, she ran up to him and gave him a sloppy salute.

"Not about to leave you behind." She affirmed with a tired smile.

He winced at the sight, pangs of guilt overpowered the euphoria that previously flowed through him. _I did this to her..._ He shook his head. "You're in no shape for combat, go get some rest."

The brunette stood her ground.

"What if you get hurt? No way, I'm staying here until the mission is over." She said behind a barely suppressed yawn.

' _My two basic responsibilities will always be uppermost in my mind—accomplishment of my mission and the welfare of my Soldiers.'_

 _The welfare of my Soldiers…Hmph, barely a month in and I already broke the NCO's creed._

"C'mon Arisato, you've been at it for five days in a row. You're done, whatever is coming up will easily take out your team if they're half-asleep." Akihiko said.

Minato turned on his heel to face his senpai, he hadn't even heard the sound of his heavy boots when he arrived. _Am I really that out of it? The adderall should be helping me out with this…_

If he hadn't heard the boxer's heavy footsteps on the tile floor...

He couldn't fool himself any longer, all it would take was one lucky shadow and he'd end up a gory mess.

"...Alright." He finally conceded.

Akihiko nodded and led the way back to the teleporter, as Minato trailed the teen he couldn't help but feel the dread building up inside him when he hypothesized what Mitsuru's reaction would be. _A rich girl getting told no by one of her serfs...This can't end well._

* * *

"We need to talk." Mitsuru ordered.

The brutally quiet car ride back was only made bearable by the anti-depressant in his system, Junpei looked down right pissed while Mitsuru remained deep in thought ever since they had returned to the FOB. Despite Yukari's best efforts, the teens never broke their silence leaving SEES feeling fractured. He already had them on edge because of the five consecutive tartarus operations he put them through, he'd need to find a way to restore team cohesion before the full moon.

He followed his CO up to her dorm and awaited his fate.

"Please be seated." She said without pausing to look at him.

Minato complied and sat down in her armchair, he maintained proper ischial alignment and squared his shoulders before reinforcing his stoic expression. He was used to being reprimanded by officers, he'd just have to nod along and not speak unless spoken to. _Business as usual in the corps._

Mitsuru paced in front of him, her black trench coat swayed violently with her movements as she collected her thoughts.

"...That 'thing' you were warned about...How dangerous is it?" She finally asked.

"Dangerous enough to warrant a warning a week in advance. The 'powerful presences' never warranted one, neither did The Reaper." He replied in his usual deadpan.

To her credit she managed to maintain a professional expression after receiving that information.

"I see...So when you said 'by any means necessary', that includes..." She trailed tentatively.

He nodded, "Sanada-senpai will make a competent leader should it come to that... I was serious when I said I wouldn't be around to see any casualties."

Mitsuru marched up to him and pointed at the dark circles under his eyes. "You aren't expendable Arisato, stop treating yourself as such. I don't know what measures you've taken, but staying awake for three days in a row and then recuperating after a two hour nap? That'll kill you faster than any shadow." She snapped.

He maintained his poker face despite the growing tightness in his throat. "I don't have much of a choice, idle time is a luxury we can't afford right now."

She sighed and sat down on the adjacent sofa. "You're driving your team apart. Iori already resents you and Takeba will break soon. I trust you Arisato, but I won't let you cripple SEES with good intentions...Are you willing to cooperate?"

 _Like I have a choice, I need your resources._

"I'll...dial it back. No more than two Tartarus operations a week, sound reasonable?" He proposed.

The aristocrat nodded, "They should respond favorably to that change. I suggest you head downstairs and do what you can to restore team cohesion."

He stood and gave a curt nod to Mitsuru before excusing himself; as he opened the door to leave he was stopped by her voice.

"I appreciate your commitment Arisato, you've gone above and beyond for SEES...I plan on doing the same for you."

 ***crash***

" _I art thou._

 _Thou art I._

 _Thou shalt have our blessing when thou chooseth to summon a Persona of the Empress Arcana."_

 _...Huh._

* * *

Winning Yukari's support back was fairly easy, she hadn't lost too much faith in him to begin with and was open to spending time with him. _Not looking forward to dealing with Iori…_

He brushed the thought away and put his attention back towards the movie on the small television Mitsuru had purchased for his dorm. The brunette lay by his side on his bed in her pink pajamas, he'd originally planned to watch television on the couch with her, but Akihiko had already claimed the living room and was busy following a workout DVD. He invited her up to his room as a joke but she boldly accepted the invitation and was now shoulder to shoulder with him on his mattress, the sweet smell of her shampoo and her radiating body heat ruined any chance of him following the plot of the film.

"You ready for tomorrow?" He asked out of the blue.

He waited a full minute in silence before turning to face Yukari, it wasn't like her to give him the silent treatment. The brunette was fast asleep and showed no inclination towards waking up soon. _Well shit. There goes my chance for a heart to heart._ He covered the girl with his fatigue jacket before grabbing his laptop and leaving his room.

* * *

The high pitch shrieking of his alarm forced Minato to bolt up from his sleep. He rubbed his bleary eyes and got up from the surprisingly luxurious couch in the second floor lobby. He turned off the alarm on his laptop and walked back to his room to get changed.

He entered his room and noticed Yukari was long gone, interestingly enough his jacket was also nowhere to be found. He shrugged it off and changed into his uniform before taking another small dose of adderall.

* * *

"Hmm...Iori-san, how would you translate this exponential function as a logarithm?" Asked Ms. Miyahara.

The teen stood up nervously and reflexively adjusted his cap.

"It's ah...log…" He stuttered.

Minato quickly jotted down the answer on his notebook and raised it slightly so that Junpei could read it.

The teen squinted at Minato's hand writing before mumbling, "Umm...Log base five of um...two x minus three equals four."

"Excellent Iori-san, I predict an A on your next exam. Oh! Class, let's calculate the likelihood of a student guessing their way to a perfect score!" Said their eccentric teacher as she quickly started jotting down formulas on the board.

Junpei sat down heavily and wiped the sweat from his brow before whispering a "thanks" to Minato.

* * *

Kaz fired another arrow with mechanical precision as Minato attempted to copy his form. After 15 failed attempts, he'd given up all hope of finding that stupid position that granted him pinpoint accuracy and settled for actually using proper techniques.

"You gotta keep your hips open to the target man, your feet are all wrong." Kaz explained.

Minato adjusted his form and was met with a nod from the athlete.

"Alright then you just draw the arrow back an-agh fuck!" Kaz suddenly yelped out as his arm recoiled back. The arrow he was holding shot straight down and dug into the turf, Kaz dropped his bow and nursed his rotator cuff while leaning against the wall.

"Want me to get the nurse?" Minato asked as he set down the practice bow and took a closer look at the teens shoulder.

"N-Nah, it's nothin'." Kaz winced out.

"Then quit being a pussy and get back to it." Minato deadpanned as he handed the teen his bow.

Kaz grinned and retrieved an arrow. "You're on Minato, I ain't about to get shown up by a rookie!"

 ***crash***

" _I art thou._

 _Thou art I._

 _Thou shalt have our blessing when thou chooseth to summon a Persona of the Chariot Arcana."_

 _Just like the barracks._

* * *

Minato stood in his new uniform while he waited for Mitsuru to finish changing. The solid black BDU and plate carrier reminded him of something a special forces group would wear. It was a far cry from their well worn olive drab fatigues that made them look like a rag tag militia. She'd also been kind enough to upgrade his jury rigged aluminum sheet armor to a more sophisticated ceramic plate carrier. Sure the added mass was a bit uncomfortable, but if it meant not having his sternum crack by over sized birds...He could cope with it.

The black patrol cap was also a welcome addition, but he couldn't help but question her judgement on the lack of proper helmets. That and the red armbands on their black BDUs... Still, the lack of enormous Kirijo Group banner's on their new equipment was a welcome feature.

"Do I look like a proper general now?" Mitsuru asked as she strolled out of her bedroom.

Her black officer's great coat flowed regally as her combat boots filled the room with a sharp clack-tap sound. She donned the black officer's cap he'd given her, it's formally plain bill was now adorned with silver cords. She mimicked his parade rest as she displayed her uniform proudly. On the one hand, he was impressed that she'd shelled out so much cash to get a high quality officer's uniform. On the other hand, he was kinda shocked that she had adapted so naturally to their new rag-tag paramilitary theme.

One thing kept nagging him though. He wasn't a historian, but their color scheme looked a little too familiar to ignore. _Black_ _coat, red armband, silver trim...I refuse to believe she doesn't see the resemblance._

A devilish grin formed on Minato's face as he clicked his heels together and saluted the woman.

"Of course mein Fuhrer!" He affirmed.

The aristocrat titled her head and looked at him quizzically. "Fuhrer?"

 _Holy shit, she doesn't know…_

He pointed to her armband. "Add a white circle to that and you're 90% of the way there."

Her eyes widened in realization. "T-That wasn't the intent!" She sputtered out.

"I know Kijio-senpai, can't blame you for picking the Hugo Boss theme though." He offered.

She looked at the armband dejectedly before walking over to her forsyth dresser and retrieving her macbook. "I should return these then…"

 _Not a chance in hell._ Despite the 1940's aesthetic these were hands down the most comfortable BDUs he'd ever worn. The cotton-polyester fabric had been expertly made and left him wondering how he ever wore the old SDF BDUs.

"N-No need for that Kirijo-senpai! It um..It looks great on you!" He quickly added.

 _Wait...Shit. That could've been worded better._

Mitsuru frowned at his comment. "I remember stating that I don't condone relationships with my subordinates…"

"Of course ma'am, it was a poor choice of words." He apologized.

She smiled coyly and continued, "Which is why I think you're due for some promotions."

 _Nuh-uh, not happening. I ain't about to get beat up in an alley by Kirijo shareholders over dating the CEO's daughter._

"I um...I need to check on our fire team, excuse me." He said before quickly retreating to the lobby.

* * *

"Hey, Minato! Check out my new threads!" Junpei exclaimed happily as he pranced around in his new armor.

Mitsuru certainly did not cheap out on it. His BDU was adorned with a heavy stab resistant vest complete with a groin plate and arm bracers. Thick zylon neck guards flanked his sides and several dense pads of cloth armor adorned his legs.

"C'mon man, just try and stab me!" He said as he passed teen a pocket knife and puffed his chest out.

 _Are we...friends again? Jesus, he's more bipolar than Yukari._

Minato shrugged and thrusted the blade at the teens vest a few times to satiate him. The small blade failed to even scratch the fabric as it bounced off harmlessly.

"See! I'm like a freakin' tank!" He said giddily.

"Yeah, and you're louder than one too." Yukari groaned as she walked in. Last night's mission had taken it's toll on everyone, even if they'd only gone for half their usual time.

The brunette's armor was far less formidable. A generic bulletproof vest adorned her chest along with a few storage pockets, presumably for medical supplies. A large white circle with a red cross was prominently displayed on the back of her armor. Perhaps the most notable additions were the black rubber gloves and arc-flash resistant jumpsuit, no doubt an upgrade that stemmed from their encounter with the rampage drive.

Junpei brushed off the brunette.

"Nah, you're just jealous that you ain't freakin STAB PROOF!" He yelled as he chest bumped Minato.

"Stab resistant. Don't get overconfident because of the armor." Minato reminded.

"Yeah, yeah, same thing. I'm gonna get some food, I'll be back in a bit."Junpei said before heading upstairs.

"So...am I ever gonna get my jacket back?" Minato asked as he plopped down on the nearby sofa.

"Nope." She teased as she took a seat next to him.

He sighed, "Figures."

* * *

The team staggered into the command room after being rudely awakened by Akihiko. Mitsuru had been kind enough to prepare coffee for the teens while they waited for her persona to scan the area.

"Find anything yet senpai?" Junpei asked as he paced around anxiously while gripping his mug a little too tightly.

"Nothing yet Iori." She replied.

The teen groaned, "Don't tell me we just wasted a week preparing for nothin'."

Akihiko shook his head. "Even if this ends up being a bust you've all gotten stronger. That's far from a waste of time."

The officer sat next to Mitsuru on the command console and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Give it another go, we'll call it a night if nothing shows up." He suggested.

The redhead nodded and closed her eyes in concentration. A few minutes passed as the team waited in anticipation before Mitsuru's eyes snapped open.

She stood quickly and tossed Minato the keys to their armory. "Grab your armaments, I found something...Whatever it is, it's dwarfing the shadow that attacked us a month ago."

Junpei beat on his thick vest confidently. "Alright, just point to it and we'll kick it's ass!"

Minato tossed the teen his blade before stuffing .357 bullets into his plate carrier. Yukari secured her quiver and slipped on her generously packed medical kit.

"Ready." They all replied in unison.

Akihiko slid on his brass knuckles and rallied the team behind him.

"Alright, let's get moving!" He said eagerly as the juniors trailed behind him.

As the boxer began to leave he felt a hand grab his collar before getting yanked back.

"Your physician has not given me the all clear yet, you'll have to stay here and wait for the chairman." Mitsuru instructed.

He shook his head, "No way, I'm going!"

"If your ligaments tear in the middle of a battle you'll just be a hindrance." She coldly reminded him.

Akihiko sighed in frustration before nodding, "...Dammit. Fine, I'll babysit the chairman."

Junpei swung his armored arm around the boxer's shoulders. "Relax! I've got it covered senpai!"

Mitsuru ignored the junior and holstered her evoker. "Arisato, take the fire team to the train station. I'll RV with you in 15."

"Hey boss, mind if I take the lead this time?" Junpei asked.

The red head looked uneasy at the suggestion and darted her eyes to gauge the reactions of the others. Akihiko shook his head while Minato kept his poker face on.

"...It's your call, Arisato." She pointed out.

"I'm gonna have to lead this one as it's far too important for a trial run. I hope you understand." Minato declared.

Junpei frowned but eventually just shrugged it off. "Alright, some other time then."

The NCO nodded and gathered his team before exiting the command room.

* * *

Yukari tapped her feet impatiently as she started to feel weighed down by the 10 kilos of medical supplies she had to lug around.

"Where is she?" She asked to no one in particular.

Junpei shrugged nonchalantly as he ran his sword through the compact sharpener Mitsuru bought him. "She'll be here soon."

Yukari sat down on the nearby steps and set her rucksack down.

"There's a full moon today...But it looks even creepier during the Dark Hour." She mentioned.

Minato nodded in agreement. "The moon looks _way_ bigger than it should be."

The sound of a loud engine quickly approached, Minato's hand rested on his holster as the noise grew nearer.

"You guys hearing that too?" Junpei asked as he unholstered his evoker.

A bright light briefly blinded them as the sound got within feet of them before dying out. Minato rubbed his eyes and saw his CO dismounting her heavily modified motorcycle. She switched out her helmet for an officers cap and approached the fire team.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." She said.

Junpei pointed an accusatory finger at her. "Wait a minute! I've had lift that thing to the back of the SUV when you could've just dri-"

"Listen carefully." Mitsuru interrupted. "Tonight, I'll be providing reconnaissance and support from here. Everything else is business as usual. The target is half a klick away from here in one of the monorails. Walk on the tracks and enter the monorail, once you're there eliminate all hostiles in the AO. Understood?"

Junpei raised his hand.

"Yes Iori?" She asked.

He looked at the rails nervously before addressing the aristocrat."So...what if a train just comes by and crushes us?"

"Don't worry, no electronic equipment is operable during the dark hour, including the monorails." She reassured.

"What about your bike?" He asked.

"And your computer console." Yukari added.

"And our headsets." Minato remarked.

Mitsuru raised a finger to object before trying to come up with a reasonable explanation."Er...Forget about those, just know that the trains are too complex to operate during the Dark Hour." She insisted.

* * *

"C1, is this the right rail car?" Minato asked.

A brief pause filled the air before Mitsuru's voice crackled to life."Affirmative, move in and destroy the target."

"Heheh, my persona's just beggin' to be used!" Junpei exclaimed as he patted his holster.

Yukari steeled her nerves and motioned to the maintenance ladder. "Well then, let's head on in."

She grabbed on to the rusty ladder handles and started climbing. Junpei grinned and nudged Minato with his elbow. The NCO looked at him quizzically before noticing what he was pointing at. Yukari's surprisingly form fitting jumpsuit gave them a detailed view that Junpei was eager to share.

A bottle of painkillers struck the capped teen in the forehead and left him nursing a small welt.

"Don't. Look. Up." Yukari warned as she ascended to the monorail.

* * *

The interior of the rail car was filled with coffins and scattered belongings. Minato readied his revolver and swept the car while Junpei examined one of the coffins.

"Poor saps must've been tryin' to get home from work when all this happened." He commented. As soon as he finished his sentence the doors to the rail car began to seal, Junpei bolted to one of the exits and tried to hold it open before losing out to the hydraulics of the door.

He wrenched his hands back and let out a string of curses. "S-Shit! I think it broke my thumb!"

Yukari grabbed his hand and examined it while Minato filled Mitsuru on the situation.

"C1, the doors sealed us in. Iori got his hand crushed but we should be able to get him combat ready." He debriefed.

"Copy that, treat his wounds and proceed with caution." She ordered.

Minato turned to his team and checked on their progress.

"You good to go Iori?" He asked.

Junpei nodded and grabbed his sword. "Yeah, Yuka-tan fixed me up. Let's hurry up so I can kill this thing!"

"Alright, we're gonna move in a line formation. Iori, you're up front. Takeba, you're our center. I'll take the rear." Minato instructed.

Junpei grinned. "Of course you'll take the rear, that's the best view."

Yukari rolled her eyes. "You're so getting left behind if you end up getting hurt again."

* * *

The team traveled through several rail cars without seeing any hostiles.

Junpei groaned impatiently, "Where are all the friggin' shadows, we ain't got all day!"

His wish was granted as a shadow dropped down from the luggage compartment and smacked his armored chest. The book wearing shadow quickly scurried away into the next rail car.

"H-Hey get back here!" Junpei yelled as he ran after it.

"Wait!" Mitsuru suddenly ordered. The teen froze as he waited for his CO to continue.

"Something's not right, the enemy is acting strangely…" She trailed.

"C'mon senpai, if we don't go after it we're gonna lose it!" He whined.

"Arisato, what's your call?" She asked.

"Play it slow and steady, we're locked in here with it, it's not going anywhere." He said.

"I concur, no need to take undue risk." Mitsuru replied.

Junpei shook his head. "Screw that, I ain't gonna let it slip away!"

He sprinted to the door and left Yukari and Minato to their own devices.

Minato began to race after him. "Iori! Get back i-"

"Two enemies behind you!" Mitsuru interrupted.

Minato turned around and raised his revolver at the shadows before unloading on them. The .357 rounds tore them apart and left the cabin coated in ichor.

Yukari notched an arrow and sighed, "This is just what the enemy wanted…"

"Yep, let's rescue Iori's impulsive ass before he gets himself killed." Minato ordered.

* * *

After taking out another group of shadows they finally found Junpei, the teen was stuck in a stalemate with a group of shadows. His sloppy swordsmanship left his blows predictable and easy to dodge while his thick armor left them unable to do any damage to the teen.

"Junpei!" Yukari called out.

"I got it under control!" He said as he took another wide swing at the shadows.

Three loud shots rang out and the shadows slumped to the floor lifelessly.

"W-What the hell man! I had them!" Junpei snapped.

"You may be willing to throw your life away, but I'm not about to let your bravado get you killed." Minato stated calmly as he reloaded his revolver.

Junpei's eyes narrowed as he glared at the teen. "You're not my freakin' dad, alright? I don't need you to look after me!"

"Can you wait until after the mission before you go at each other's throats?" Yukari interjected.

"Fine, let's just kill this thing and get it over with." Junpei huffed.

Minato motioned to the door as he raised his revolver. "Take point Iori."

Junpei rolled his eyes and slid the door open before stomping forward with his blade at the ready.

The train suddenly sprung to life and jolted the teen.

"W-Woah, why are we movin'?" He asked into his mic.

"It seems the monorail is under the enemy's control. You'll have to go to the front car and kill whatever's operating the controls." Mitsuru replied.

"You said it was inoperable! As in, it couldn't power on!" Yukari cried out.

"Aw man, this doesn't look good…" Junpei whispered as fear began to take over his anger.

"If you don't stop that shadow, it'll crash into another train!" Mitsuru warned.

Panic began to set into Yukari's eyes. "WHAT!? Oh god, what are we gonna do!?"

Minato snapped his fingers to get their attention. "Kill the operator, set the brakes. Got it?"

Yukari nodded. "Y-Yeah, alright. Let's get it done."

A group of shadows apparated in front of the group and guarded the door leading to the next car. A table with assorted cutlery hovering above it and two pink gloves began to advance on them.

"What kinda messed up ride is this?" Junpei whined as he braced himself for battle.

Minato lined up his sights and fired thrice at the table-esque shadow, it quickly splintered and faded away to black goo. Yukari swept one of the gloves away with a garu spell before skewering it with an arrow. The remaining glove shot a small block of ice at Junpei; the ice shattered uselessly against his vest and Junpei took the opportunity to retaliate. He sliced off the glove's digits before splitting it vertically.

"You have eight minutes to stop the train, get moving!" Mitsuru ordered.

The team sped up and quickly dispatched the small groups of shadows guarding the rest of the rail cars.

* * *

"The enemy is up ahead, are you ready?" Mitsuru asked.

"Roger. Fire team is moving in." Minato replied.

Junpei slid the door open and the team quickly entered the room. A massive woman sat between them and the control room, her legs were spread provocatively as she let out a series of disturbing moans. Her tendril-like hair waved around her defensively as the fire team prepared to engage it.

"What the hell!? Is this the friggin' boss?" Junpei asked in disbelief.

Yukari drew her bow and lined up her sights. "We're in the front car, it's gotta be!"

Minato didn't bother weighing in and instead unloaded his entire cylinder into the shadow. The magnum rounds tore large chunks of it's torso away and the creatures abdominal wall gave way to a grotesque mess of foreign organs that seeped from it's wounds. It let out a deeply erotic moan and summoned two small shadows to guard it.

"Iori, concentrate fire on the boss. Takeba, take care of it's minions!" Minato barked as he stowed his now empty revolver and retrieved his evoker.

Junpei stepped past the smaller shadows and hacked off the woman's ankle before summoning his persona and ordering it to incinerate her. Hermes scorched the shadow's chest before getting skewered by it's sharp tendrils. Junpei grabbed his skull in agony as he sensed every bit of Hermes' pain. The priestess capitalized on his distraction and swatted him away with what remained of her leg.

Yukari tore one of the tiara's apart with a garu spell before turning her sights on it's companion. The shadow dodged her wind attack and quickly closed the distance before sending a powerful strike to her knee. Yukari bit back tears as her leg bent at an unnatural angle and collapsed to the floor. The shadow reeled back to strike her again before getting frozen in place by a bufu attack. Yukari scrambled for her bow and fired an arrow at the shadow in record time, the tiara shattered into small black chunks before melting away.

Minato dismissed Jack Frost and summoned Berith in his place. The knight reeled his arm back and chucked his trident at the priestess. The weapon dug deep into her neck and pinned her against the aluminum hull of the rail car. She reached for the trident and tugged at it desperately as she tried to free herself.

Junpei got up and retrieved his bastard sword before charging the shadow and severing its right arm at the elbow. The priestess let out a strained moan and used her remaining energy to wrap her hair around Junpei before squeezing with all her might. A loud 'pop' filled the room as Junpei's arms slid out of their sockets. The teen squirmed against the hair feebly as he felt his ribs begin to give.

The pressure suddenly vanished as the Priestess' head erupted into a fine black mist and her body collapsed to the floor. Minato holstered his revolver and rushed over to Junpei with his evoker in hand.

Junpei coughed violently before shaking his head at the teen. "G-Go to *cough* the controls first."

Yukari crawled to her evoker and waved Minato away. "I'll fix us up, go stop this thing!" She ordered.

Minato looked at his wounded comrades before nodding and rushing to the control room.

* * *

 _I have no idea what any of these buttons do._

He pushed the red button that looked like an emergency break. The intercom began to play a recording of their upcoming destinations.

 _Fuck fuck fuck!_

He grabbed a lever and wrenched it back with all his might. The train sped up to a dangerously fast speed.

 _Fuck! W-Wait!_

He forced it back as far as it would go in the opposite direction. A horrible squealing noise filled the cabin as the train grinded to a halt. The sudden stop lurched the train forward and launched his head against the tempered glass windows. His skull thunked against the glass loudly and his vision faded to black.

* * *

"Wake up you heavy bastard!" Junpei grunted out as he slid his comrades body from the cabin.

"Here, let me try something." Yukari said as she held her evoker to her head. She used a dia spell on the unconscious teen and waited a few seconds.

The teen stirred and grabbed his forehead. "Ugh, did I stop it?" He asked hazily.

Junpei snaked his arms underneath Minato's armpits and raised him to his feet. After feeling confident that the teen wouldn't collapse the second he let go Junpei removed his arms.

"Yep, you saved the day. As always." He said with disdain.

Minato ignored his remark and slumped down on one of the nearby benches.

"Takeba, hook me up with some naproxen or ibuprofen or whatever Mitsuru gave you." He mumbled.

Yukari dug around her rucksack and handed a painkiller to her NCO.

Their headsets crackled and Mitsuru's voice came to life. "Is Arisato stabilized?"

"I'm up C1." Minato replied after swallowing the painkiller.

"RV at the station, I'll have a car waiting for us." She ordered.

"Affirmative, we're on our way." He said before getting up shakily.

Junpei watched his NCO stumble around for a few seconds before sighing and grabbing his arm. He supported Minato's weight with his shoulder and followed Yukari as she wrenched the fire escape open. Despite being pissed that Minato stole the spotlight, he couldn't deny that he would've been crushed had Minato not landed the killing blow.

* * *

Minato and Junpei sat in the command room as they waited for Mitsuru and Yukari to return from her dorm.

"You know anything about this?" Junpei asked.

"Not a clue." Minato replied.

An awkward silence separated the two for several minutes.

Junpei swallowed his pride and looked at his NCO. "Hey...Back there I um...made some stupid decisions..." He admitted.

Minato shook his head. "There's no stupid decisions in combat, just decisions. All I ask is that you leave the responsibility, and the consequences to me."

Junpei sighed, "It's just frustrating ya'know? I hate being bossed around, I was hoping I'd get to lead one day."

Minato smiled at his naivety. "I'd recommend not undertaking that role until you're sure you want the responsibilities it entails. Being bossed around is easy, signing casualty reports is...heartbreaking to say the least. "

"They make cadets fill those out?" He asked.

Minato nodded, "...On the rare occasion one of us dies while in service."

"And you..." Junpei trailed.

"Three of them." He divulged.

Junpei grimaced. "Guess I never saw it that way."

"You're alright Junpei. I know I've been pushing your buttons so I don't take this personally. The problem is, I don't know what they are yet. Makes it difficult to avoid." Minato noted as he reclined against the sofa.

Junpei grinned. "No more 'Iori', huh?"

"For you? I'll drop the formalities." Minato said.

* * *

Mitsuru held the golden chevrons delicately in her hands. "Private Takeba, Private Iori, in recognition for your bravery and dedication I have chosen to promote you to the rank of Leading Private."

The two juniors offered her a respectful bow as she approached them and pinned the additional chevrons on their collars. Yukari and Junpei shared a high five before returning to the sofa.

"Sergeant Major Arisato, due to your unwavering loyalty to the organization and your successful leadership of the fire team, I have chosen to promote you to the rank of Warrant Officer. As a privilege of your new rank, you are now in charge of designating specialties for ground team members." Mitsuru said.

Minato bowed and stood at attention as Mitsuru's fingers swiftly removed his black bars and chevrons before planting a single gold bar on his collar.

Their CO gave them a proud smile and excused herself.

"Guess we're movin' on up, huh Yuka-tan?" Junpei said as he looked at his chevrons.

"Yep, at this rate we'll outrank Akihiko by the time he recovers." She joked.

"Oh! And as a plus, we can actually see what friggin' rank you are Minato! She didn't really think that whole 'black on black' thing through with your old rank." Junpei commented.

"Or the red armband." Minato added.

"Huh?" His subordinates asked in unison.

 _...Am I the only that sees that connection? Wait, shit. 'Sees', SEES...I'm turning into fucking Ikutsuki._

Minato clicked his heels together and stretched his right arm towards the ceiling in a manner a German diplomat might have done sixty years ago.

The duo burst out in laughter as they caught on.

"S-She really..." Yukari paused to catch her breath. "No wonder she was adamant on us removing the armband before going out in public."

"Aww man, leave it to the smartest girl in Iwatodai to have somethin' like that go over her head." Junpei remarked.

 ***crash***

" _I art thou._

 _Thou art I._

 _Thou shalt have our blessing when thou chooseth to summon a Persona of the Fool Arcana."_

Minato joined his team on sofa as they cracked jokes at their CO's expense, their previous tension now healed.


	13. Chapter 13

**AN:** Tengo que estudiar para mi examen final de español, so that's why this chapter is a bit shorter than usual. That and the pile of broken laptops I've got to repair soon. Fuuka and good writing are confirmed for the next chapter, it might end up being in the 10k word range so give me some time to ensure it's not a piece of shit. Skim through the old chapters if you haven't already, I made them 20% less shitty and added about 3,000 words.

Terms you may be unfamiliar with:

FH-70-It's a bigass artillery piece that can fuck you up from 24-30 kilometers away.

Boot-Someone who's acting like a total newbie or "fresh out of boot camp".

PASGT-Already went over it, but it's just a soft armor chest piece and helmet.

CAR-Combat action ribbon, awarded for experiencing combat.

Ubuntu-It's like Windows but stable.

FAS-Field Artillery School

Last edited: 05/26/16, added about 150 words and fixed some grammatical errors.

* * *

 **Cram Week**

The thundering blast from the 155mm howitzer resounded across the base. Even in their makeshift observation post 70 meters away from the firing exercise, the shock wave from the FH-70 could still be felt. The round soared brightly as it's flare ignited and illuminated the entire region, the staccato of machine gun fire filled the quiet night as soon as the range lit up. The distinct "pop" of mortars joined the fray as the rumbling of diesel engines from their IFV's could be heard in the distance. Minato's platoon was currently dug into a small hill; the only duties the enlisted men trusted them with were to divide into squads and set up sandbags and foxholes while they performed live fire exercises.

His cadet Master Sergeant stood from the small sandbag wall and kicked an empty soda can in frustration. "Shit, they finally roll out all their gear and we still can't try firing any arty?"

Their warrant officer offered an apathetic shrug. "Probably not gonna get to do any dry fires until FAS, I wouldn't get my hopes up."

Audible groans were heard from NCO's and privates alike. His leading private looked at the warrant officer incredulously. "You serious? That's like, three years from now!"

The officer smacked the leading private upside the head before chastising him, "One for me you fucking boot! Maybe if your math scores weren't so awful you'd get fast tracked."

Their lieutenant spit out his dip into a soda bottle before flipping off the warrant officer. "Fuck off with that Sota, we're all boots."

"Yeah, but these chevrons are fetus-tier boots. At least we have range ribbons." Sota said while pointing the privates of the squad. "Eh, Arisato has one too but he don't count."

One of their bolder sergeants decided to interject. "You probably just bought that ribbon from the PX. I've seen you shoot... I think I'd rather have a 1st timer by my side."

"H-Hey! I shoot just fine, 40 shots 40 hits." Sota stammered.

Their lieutenant rolled his eyes. "You needed my help assembling your carbine you amateur. I'd be impressed if you landed three hits with 100 shots."

Minato took advantage of his squad's bickering and snuck away from their hilltop position to the nearby ravine.

* * *

Despite the burning flares overhead illuminating the camp the narrow gorge was dimly lit and the large stones Minato kept bumping into proved to be dangerous adversaries. He treaded carefully through the darkness until he felt warm arms snake around his chest from behind him.

"Rui, if that's you doing this I'm gonna deck you." He muttered.

"He some friend of yours?" Asked a familiar feminine voice.

Minato let out a sigh of relief and sunk into the embrace. Despite his bulky PASGT the hug provided him with much needed comfort. He dropped his guard and let himself relax as the brunette rested her head on his shoulder. Tonight marked their second week together, with them spending the better part of ten hours with each other every day. Normally he'd get sick of having to spend half that time with anyone outside of his squad, but their constant back and forth kept him engaged the entire time.

"Hmph, we finally get some time alone and there's gotta be fuckin' arty going off." She mused.

He spun around before wrapping an arm around her waist and pointing to the illuminating shells in the sky. "I think it's romantic, wouldn't you agree Yuka?" He asked with a grin.

She rolled her eyes and elbowed the teen.

"Fuckin' arty nerds." She sighed.

"MLRS." He corrected.

"Yep, you and the 9 MLRS trucks we have in Japan. Watch the brass assign you to a howitzer for your entire deployment." She nagged.

He let out an exaggerated sigh. "It's almost like you want me to change my MOS."

She raised her arms defensively. "I'm just sayin', Dr. Arisato has a nice ring to it."

"I dunno, Captain Arisato sounds pretty good to me." He said as he sat down on one of the flatter rocks in the ravine.

She took a seat next to him and unclasped his helmet before ruffling his hair. Had anyone else done that he'd have punched them in the throat, but Yuka had earned more leeway than most people he'd ever met.

"If you're gonna be a captain you might as well go grunt." She grinned devilishly. "No point in earning those gold stars in you're just gonna be a pogue."

"Artillery is like, the least pogue-ish field!" He huffed as he swatted her hand away.

She shrugged. "Tell that to the riflemen. All you guys do is listen to music and draw dicks on the ammo cans while they earn their CARs."

Minato moved to refute her claim before getting flooded with flashbacks of impressively detailed penises on practically all their munition crates.

"That's...a painfully accurate description of our arty crew." He admitted.

She snickered before hooking an arm around his and resting her head on his shoulder.

"This whole training month feels pretty lucky. I got to play around with all the medical gear my heart desired and got a new ribbon…" She said. "And I suppose meeting you was pretty nice too."

He shrugged. "I made 7500 yen and hooked up with a hot nurse, can't complain."

"Lucky you, I got stuck babysitting a cannon cocker because he didn't hydrate enough." She teased.

He held a hand to his heart and mimicked pain. "Ouch, I'm gonna need some motrin and a sock change to heal from that."

Yuka patted his chest. "I'll treat you so long as you, 'keep yer goddamn hands outta yer goddamn pockets!', or whatever that prick of a staff sergeant says."

"Aaand that's why I don't get sick of seeing you." He cooed.

She sighed, "Too bad about the distance though... At least Osaka is only about an hour away by rail. Don't know if we could've kept this up if you lived any further away."

Minato rubbed her shoulder and planted a soft kiss on her forehead. "Don't worry about it, i'll keep visiting you until I run out of train money."

* * *

He snapped out of his daydream as Junpei plopped down on the sofa and handed him an envelope.

"Boss says it's ours to spend. 'A gift from the Kirijo Group', she called it." Junpei said.

Minato dug around his pocket and pulled out a small folding knife. He neatly cut the envelope open and saw an impressive stack of bills. He removed the stack from the envelope and noticed a small post-it note on the front. _'For your outstanding service.'_ It read.

His eyes widened as he counted the bills. _30,000 yen? That's pretty fucking generous._

"How much didja get?" Junpei asked as he leaned in.

"30k, you?" Minato asked.

"Same, guess she just split it evenly." Junpei noted before standing up and stretching. "Welp, I'm gonna get myself some games. You wanna come with?"

He shook his head. "I'm running Intel HD graphics on my laptop, anything made past 2002 will probably throttle it."

"2002 huh? I got you bro, I'll be back." Junpei said before leaving the dorm.

Minato glanced around the lobby before stalking over to the reception room and booting up the dust covered computer.

' _Windows 2000 Professional… Starting up….1%'_

 _Holy shit._

After seven minutes the computer finally entered its desktop environment. Minato reached for the ancient trackball mouse and clicked the start menu. The cursor buffered for two minutes before a nostalgic 'ding' emanated from the speakers.

' _Error 1053: The service did not respond to the start or control request in a_ _timely fashion.'_

He manually stopped all non-essential processes before trying it again.

' _Error 1053: The service did not respond to the start or control request in a_ _timely fashion.'_

 _Shit's probably corrupted by now._

He ran back to his room and grabbed his toolkit before rushing back to the computer. He popped the clasps open and retrieved his trusty Ubuntu USB while whispering a silent prayer. He rebooted the computer and plugged in the USB. Minato quickly spammed the F2 key as directed and patiently waited for the BIOS menu.

' _CPU Fan Error, this motherboard does not support chips over 99999999W.'_

 _...What?_

* * *

After three hours of troubleshooting, Minato was at his breaking point. He'd used more profanity in the past thirty minutes than he had during his entire time as a cadet.

' _Where are you?'_

He moved the cursor to Japan and clicked on the region. It buffered for a few seconds before giving him the following message:

' _?:_

?'

"Three fucking times in a row. Three. Fucking. Times." Minato muttered as he pulled at his hair.

He pressed the power button a little more forcefully than needed and waited for the arduously slow boot up.

"Havin' fun there?" Yukari asked as she leaned against the reception counter.

"I think I'm a masochist." He said while the Ubuntu installation began again.

Yukari saw the teen's eye twitch as the computer shut down abruptly after starting the installation. "C'mon, let's go do something before you give yourself an aneurysm."

Minato slumped against the office desk before groaning.

"Ugh, I give up for today. You eat yet?" He asked.

She shook her head, "Nope."

He gave one last look to the CRT monitor in front of him before packing his tools. "Alright, I'll go get my jacket."

* * *

"How about there?" Yukari asked as they walked around the strip mall.

Minato glanced at the building before shrugging. "Fine by me."

They walked into Hagakure and sat down in a booth, the familiar aroma of spices filled his nostrils as he recalled the numerous conversations he'd had with Kenji over dating older women. They each ordered the special as the waiter stopped by to take their order.

"You eat here before?" Yukari asked.

He nodded, "I've been here a few times with our classmates."

She looked a bit disappointed with his response before perking back up. "You've been making more friends than I thought, here I was thinking I'd show you the best ramen spot around."

"My charming personality must be winning people over." Minato deadpanned.

Yukari giggled. "It's an acquired taste."

"Using Kirijo's lines against me? That's a bold tactic." He noted.

"I try." She quipped.

A nostalgic smile formed on his face as he looked at the brunette. _They're so damn similar...No way, she's dead. I signed the casualty report._

Yukari snapped her fingers to break his gaze after what felt like minutes.

"Quit starin' at me like that you perv." She teased.

"I'm not the one that walked in on someone in their underwear without knocking." He quickly replied.

She blushed before sighing, "I'm not gonna live that one down am I?"

"Not a chance in hell." He said dryly.

He admired how quickly she'd managed to derail his dark train of thought. It was rare to find someone so easy to talk to outside of his old academy, but it seemed like their trips to Tartarus had made him drop his guard around the brunette.

"Ugh, I need more dirt on you." Yukari muttered.

"Just call up my cadet buddies, there's plenty of repressed cringiness from my early years for you to stock up on." Minato said.

She looked at him expectantly.

"Well?" She asked.

He shook his head, "Nuh-uh, I'm taking that shit to the grave."

The waiter interrupted their banter as he set down the bowls of ramen down in front of them before excusing himself.

They ate in silence for a while, neither knowing when to speak. Minato seemed content enough with maintaining the silence leaving Yukari with the burden of reigniting the conversation.

"So...I noticed you've been hanging out with that freshman girl from student council." She forced out.

"Fushimi-san? She's alright, a bit awkward around men though." He replied.

She smirked. "Guess you weren't kidding about liking brunettes."

He shrugged, "I just think brown hair looks nice. And I'm not dating Fushimi, I think if I asked her out she'd have a stroke."

"It's that bad, huh?" She asked with suppressed laughter.

Minato nodded, "Yep, I invited her to lunch with Odagiri-san and I... I think she's still trying to recover from the interaction."

* * *

"Not gonna happen." He warned.

The duo stood in front of the local Karaoke club; Minato had been dragging his heels the entire way there despite Yukari's reassurances of her low expectations.

"C'mon, we'll get our own booth." She offered. "No one will be able to hear you."

"Nope, I already had to endure this with my squad for two years. Not. Gonna. Happen." He said sternly.

Yukari pouted before batting her eyes. "Please?"

* * *

The duo left the club after several hours of singing. Despite doing his best to look miserable Minato couldn't hide the smile that formed on his lips the entire time.

"It wasn't _that_ bad." She reassured.

Minato shook his head. "I've heard myself sing, you don't have to lie."

"Okay, it was pretty bad." She snickered.

"You're taking point in our next op." He mumbled before leading her down the stairs.

* * *

"Arisato, may I have a minute?" Mitsuru asked.

Minato nodded and followed the aristocrat upstairs to her dorm. To his surprise, Akihiko was sitting on Mitsuru's living room sofa with a cup of tea in his hands. The boxer nodded to Minato and motioned to the empty spot on the couch next to him. He obliged his senior and took a seat next to him while Mitsuru opted to sit down in her armchair.

"Welcome to your first officer's meeting." Akihiko said as he poured him a cup of tea.

Minato arched an eyebrow. "You've been having meetings?"

"Correct, and now that you're a commissioned officer it's only right to let you partake in them." Mitsuru explained.

"We mostly go over logistics and individual member performance. Usual admin stuff." Akihiko added.

He was still coming to terms with how well adapted Mitsuru was to their paramilitary structure. He practically had to beg his ground team to flip through their handbooks, but the aristocrat was damn near fluent with the terminology after a month.

"I wanted to check up on the fire team. My persona can only see so much in the field and your team isn't exactly eager to speak to either of us outside of combat. Try as we might, I doubt anything but joining them on the frontlines will improve our relations." She divulged.

Minato nodded in agreement. "Combat makes for _very_ strong bonds. Once Sanada-senpai heals from his injuries he can help serve as a bridge between you and the fire team."

"That's what we're counting on." Akihiko noted.

Mitsuru sipped her tea before motioning to him. "Have you given any thoughts to your team's specialties?"

"Takeba will be our combat lifesaver, Iori can serve as our CQC specialist. Seeing as I'm the only firearms user, I'll be the designated marksman." Minato said.

"I'll be sure to allocate funds to equip them according to your recommendations. Your thoughts, Akihiko?" She asked.

"It sounds about right." Akihiko commented. "But what about their morale? Junpei seemed a bit hostile these past few days, don't know about Yukari though."

"I'm not too sure on Iori, he seems to have calmed down but certain things will trigger his temper. I haven't pinpointed them yet but that's a work in progress." Minato informed.

Mitsuru jotted down some notes before making eye contact with him again.

"And Takeba?" She asked.

"She's highly trusting of Iori and I, despite the layer of sass she puts up. From what I've gathered, she's loyal to the cause but has some reservations towards our admin staff." He revealed.

Mitsuru took a few seconds to digest the information before nodding. "I see...Thank you for your input Arisato. I'd advise you study for your exams this coming week, if you score at the top of your class I'll be sure to reward you, and your team should they perform well, appropriately."

"I'll be sure to do so, is that all for today?" He asked before polishing off his beverage.

"Yes, I'll have Akihiko inform you of any upcoming meetings." She replied.

Minato stood and gave a short bow to his senpai before excusing himself.

* * *

"Takeba, Junpei, grab your notes. We're gonna get some study time in for the exams." He ordered.

Audible groans were heard from the duo as they sunk further into their seats.

"Eh? What's got you so interested in our grades all of a sudden?" Junpei asked.

Minato dropped his stack of notebooks on the lobby's coffee table and plopped down on the armchair before answering him. "Kirijo-senpai put a bounty on them, everyone that scores at the top of our class will 'be rewarded appropriately'."

Yukari's eyes lit up. "You think it's gonna be as lucrative as it was this morning?"

"The Kirijo Group reported 30 Trillion yen in revenue last year, I'm certain it'll be quite lucrative." He said.

Junpei grinned. "I ain't no nerd, but if this gets me another 30,000 yen I'm all ears."

* * *

They were three days into their new study sessions and Minato was certain the stress was giving him grey hairs. He swallowed the frustration and maintained his professional demeanor as he broke it down for his team once again.

"If you take the square root of both sides, x will stay positive and the product will be a plus or minus solution. If you don't make it plus or minus you'll end up writing only one of the possible or extraneous solutions." He explained.

Yukari nodded and edited her work before presenting it to him again.

"Yep, x equals four _and_ negative four. Nice job Takeba," He complimented before handing the notebook back to her.

Junpei hesitantly handed over his work and adverted his eyes.

He examined the chicken scratch for any signs of coherent work. A mess of miscellaneous formula's filled the page sans a small neat boxed answer of 'undefined'. _H-How the fuck? How do you get…OH!_

"Sorry Junpei, you can't just write 'undefined' and try to pass it off as complete."

Junpei scratched his head and shrugged. "I kinda...slept through most of my math classes."

 _Fuck._


	14. Chapter 14

**AN** : I purged the old chapters of most of their garbage and slowed the pacing down to something more realistic. This is probably still crap, but I brushed up on my comma rules so now I'll only fuck them up 30% of the time. I know I promised Fuuka in this chapter, but realistically that might take a month to add at my current pace. As for the "good writing"...I mean, this is _better_ than my usual drivel.

* * *

 **The Emperor**

Minato stared at the capped teen intensely as he scribbled away on his notebook. Yukari had long since memorized all she needed to know in order to ace the exams, but Junpei's lackluster academics had proven to be his toughest adversary to date. He'd gone over the concept in excruciating detail but Junpei was still missing most of the problems.

"Bro, how the hell do I get rid of the two in front of the 'ln'?" Junpei asked as he paused his writing.

"Divide both sides by two," Minato replied as he tried to maintain his impartial expression.

"What!? But there's already a fraction on the other side!" Junpei whined.

"Just multiply both sides by one half if you think dividing will mess you up," Minato said as he sunk deeper into the armchair.

Junpei scratched his head as he looked at his work. "Where did ya get the one half from?"

Minato felt his left eye twitch as he heard that same question for the third time that afternoon.

 _Kill me._

* * *

Minato spent another hour tutoring Junpei before calling it quits; the week he'd devoted to his fire team's academics would have to suffice. He slipped under his covers and booted up his laptop to try out the archaic MMO Junpei had purchased for him. The nostalgic 2D sprite based graphics loaded up a decrepit hospital that was filled with low level enemies. A female avatar appeared from one of the nearby rooms and killed all the enemy sprites in one move before turning to face him.

 _'1 new notification.'_

Minato opened his chat client and stared blankly at the message he'd been sent.

 _'sup, xD '_

The chat window blinked again as a new message appear.

 _'Asl…? Oh, wait, r u a nub? U r, huh? '_

Minato checked the server and his heart sunk as reality set in. They were the only people online. Globally.

* * *

The teens shared a tense silence as they walked into their classroom. Their teacher had abandoned her usual carefree demeanor and was now clinging to a bundle of exams as she monitored their classmates scrupulously.

"This is it, huh?" Junpei gulped.

"Y-Yeah, let's get this over with," Yukari said with waning determination.

Minato nodded and took his seat. His eyes were struggling to stay open as he pinched himself awake. The modest supply of Adderall and Xanax he purchased had run out sooner than he expected and their exam schedule left him unable to stock up on caffeine. He forced his heavy eyelids open and readied his no.2 pencil and his trusty Ti-83.

* * *

 **Monday**

 _'What is the 13th term of the sequence?'_

Minato plugged the sequence into his Ti-83 and jotted down the answer. _International Baccalaureate my ass._

* * *

Yukari had spent the last six minutes on the same problem. Her scratch paper had been overwhelmed by a mess of quadratic formulas and failed factoring attempts. _The answer is three plus i square root of 58...But it can't have a freakin' "i" if it's asking me to round!_ She re-read the problem before sighing in frustration and factoring again.

* * *

Junpei had been breezing through all his problems, granted his test was a level beneath Yukari's and two below Minato's, but he felt pretty confident with most of his answers so far.

 _'Identify the shape of the following: (x^2-4)+(y^2)=25'_

 _It's a circle, duh. Man, these teachers don't take advantage of my genius._

* * *

 **Tuesday**

 _'What was the basic argument of Heraclitus in this passage?_

Minato's pencil hovered over the options as he pondered why the hell his composition teacher had decided to include Greek philosophy in his exam.

* * *

 _'Read the following passage and answer questions 4-9.'_

Yukari skimmed through the archaic story before filling in her answers. _Alright. Nine down, **81** more to go._

* * *

Junpei tapped his pencil restlessly against his desk as he looked at the four page advertisement he had to endure in order to answer the next ten questions. He adjusted his cap and gave it a go.

 _The new Intel i3-2120 provides home users with an adequate balance of computational power and... Ugh, who gives a shit? Screw this passage and screw composition._

* * *

 **Wednesday**

 _'Which answer properly explains Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium?'_

Minato skimmed through his options before bubbling in the answer he thought was the least incorrect.

* * *

'The Hillock Trigger is located in which type of cell?'

Yukari's hand instinctively bubbled in "neuron", but the "glial" option made her second guess herself. _What the hell is a glial cell?_

* * *

 _'Which graph shows a K selection species?'_

Junpei bubbled in a random graph before cursing himself for sleeping through all his lectures.

* * *

 **Thursday**

 _'Write a short response essay to one of the following prompts. Include the social, religious, economic, cultural, and political context.'_

Minato looked through the prompts before crafting his most pedantic bullshit to date.

* * *

 _'What is the legacy of the First Sino-Japanese War?'_

Yukari let out a soft sigh of relief and started writing her short response. She'd gotten lucky for the past few questions and it looked like her flashcards were paying off.

* * *

 _'What was the Imperial Oath of Five Articles?'_

Junpei vaguely recalled something about a dead British guy and the word Meiji, he scribbled down an answer that felt like it would garner partial credit before moving on to the next question.

* * *

 **Friday**

Minato finished labeling the map of Africa before closing the exam packet and resting his head on the laminated surface of his desk. _I. Need. Amphetamines._

* * *

Yukari stared at the landlocked country as she tried to recall the proper spelling. _Ulaanbatar? Ulaanbaatar? Ugh, it looks like Kublai Khan gets the last laugh against Japan._

* * *

Junpei was impressed with how well he'd done. He'd gotten most of Asia and the America's but it seemed like Europe and Africa would be his downfall. _That's gotta be Slovenia...Or is it Slovakia? Isn't there supposed to be a Yugoslavia somewhere in this? Fuck, this might be Croatia for all I know._

* * *

 **Saturday**

A picture of an abstracted haystack in a sunny field was presented to the class.

"Identify the artist, century, and nationality."

Minato counted his blessings that the teacher hadn't opted for the more obscure Oceanic artists in the book as he jotted down his answer. _Monet, 19th century, French._

* * *

Yukari squinted at the finer details of the two neolithic looking statues embracing each other; everything pointed to ancient art but a european name kept nagging at her. _Screw it. Brancusi, 20th century, Romanian._

* * *

Junpei couldn't believe his luck, the one Japanese printmaker he'd briefly skimmed over was their only visual for block prints. The vivid color and expert carving left no doubt in his mind as he wrote his answer. _Hiroshige, 19th century, Japanese._

* * *

Mitsuru dismissed their server as he finished pouring her tea. Her hair managed to maintain it's pristine appearance despite the fatigue in her eyes. Akihiko, on the other hand, appeared completely unaffected by the brutally long exams. If anything, the boxer looked full of energy.

Minato envied them. Without the Adderall his body had grown to crave, he was constantly exhausted. His hair was unkempt and the bags under his eyes made him look sickly, a far cry from his usual grooming standards.

"You guys up for hand to hand training tomorrow?" Akihiko asked.

"Tsk. I think we all need rest right now, Akihiko," Mitsuru chastised.

"C'mon, you already missed out on last week's training. Think of it as your chance to catch up," he argued.

Junpei propped his head on his arm as he rubbed his eyes. "I'd love to senpai, but I feel like I'm gonna pass out on my plate right now. I'm probably not gonna wake up till noon."

Yukari massaged her temples as she nodded in agreement.

"How about just us then, Arisato?" Akihiko asked.

The teen weighed his options. On the one hand he felt like he'd die if he stayed up for another hour. On the other hand, he got his ass handed to him during his sparring session. _Whatever, I'll just sleep earlier._

Minato squared his shoulders and gave his senior a tired nod. "I'll set the alarm."

The boxer looked surprised by his answer but quickly regained his composure and gave him a nod of approval.

"Glad to see you take your training seriously," he complimented.

* * *

Akihiko side stepped his tackle and threw a brutal punch that connected with his head. The junior dropped like a rock as his vision flickered; his cheek rested on the cool plastic of the practice mat as his diaphragm pushed out all the air he'd been holding in.

"You alright?" He heard Akihiko ask.

Minato gave him a weak thumbs up before rolling on his back and grabbing the boxer's outstretched hand.

"Not my most...graceful sparring match," he murmured.

 _Not that I've had too many of those._ The majority of his sparring matches against his fellow cadets usually ended with him in an armbar or some other elaborate hold. They either outweighed him or were just flat out better fighters, something that his ego couldn't deny.

"You'll get better at this, the more you push your limits the more strength you'll gain," Akihiko reassured.

Minato stretched his arms before getting back into his fighting stance. "One more?"

Akihiko grinned and raised his arms defensively. "You're on."

* * *

The painful bruising on his ribs did its best to make itself noticeable whenever he leaned the wrong way or took in a deep breath. _Akihiko can throw a fucking hook, let the purple marks reflect that._

Junpei seemed oblivious to his discomfort as he set down the crate of empty bottles.

"So, what are we making again?" He asked.

Minato patted a gas can as he reached for a bottle. "Petrol bombs."

Junpei took a cautious step away from the teen before crossing his arms. "Uh-huh...And is this safe for us to be doing?"

Minato shrugged. "Just don't light them on fire and they'll be damn near inert."

Junpei groaned. "Great, you ask the guy with a fire based persona to help you with these."

"We're the only no-lives who didn't make plans for today," Minato pointed out.

He waved the teen off. "Look man, I just wanted to sleep in today, it's not like I couldn't have made plans."

"If you say so…" Minato hummed.

Junpei flipped the teen off and squatted down to help him fill the bottles with the pungent liquid.

* * *

Mitsuru sighed as she walked in on the two petrol covered teens. "Need I ask?"

"Funnels are over-rated," Junpei said as he vigorously scrubbed his hands in the kitchen sink.

Minato kept his back straight as he attempted his best to look nonchalant. "Just making some iron curtain mementos for our next Tartarus expedition."

"I'm going to need to greenlight any further 'chemistry experiments' that you come up, Arisato," Mitsuru warned.

The teen gave her a nod. "Fine by me."

She opened up the kitchen window and pointed at them with a stern look on her face. "If this kitchen smells like a petrol station by the time I get back, you're going to have the pleasure of cleaning the entire building. I assure you my standards are quite high."

Junpei was already digging around for a can of air freshener by the time she finished her sentence.

* * *

Minato led his team towards the mob that had gathered near the exam results bulletin. He felt reasonably confident with his score, but Junpei had him pretty worried.

He felt eyes watching him as they pushed through the crowd, and whispers could be heard from students pointing at the top left corner of the bulletin.

"Woah...You got first place dude," Junpei said as his finger trailed up the score board.

 _' 1. Minato Arisato: 98% '_

"Who would've guessed that the brutal boredom of on-base life would pay off..." Minato trailed.

Yukari scanned the board for her name before pointing excitedly at her spot. "Hey, look at that! The flashcards pulled through!"

 _' 9. Yukari Takeba: 91% '_

Minato offered her a respectful nod. "Impressive."

Junpei tapped both of them on the shoulder and looked at them with wide eyes. "Guys..."

Yukari looked over to the teen. "Hmm?"

Junpei touched her spot on the board and trailed down a few spots.

 _' 17. Junpei Iori: 85% '_

"No way..." She whispered.

"It looks like...IM A FREAKIN' GENIUS!" He yelled out before pumping his fists in the air.

He ran off before grabbing Kenji by the arm and dragging him to show off his high score.

"I see you've managed to surpass my expectations."

Minato and Yukari turned to face the voice. Mitsuru was standing behind them with a small shopping bag. She handed the bag to Minato before giving the teen a short bow.

"Courtesy of the Kirijo Group," she said before leaving.

Minato walked over to Yukari before peering into the bag.

"Are those...?" She asked.

"Touchscreen and everything..." He confirmed.

He fished out his flip phone and gave the bag another look.

"It had a good run," he whispered before swapping it for the significantly newer model.

* * *

Akihiko walked into the lobby with an excited grin.

"Senpai, I hear you're fully healed!" Yukari said.

"Congrats man!" Junpei chimed in.

He nodded and rotated his arm. "Yep, I'm ready to go to Tartarus whenever you are. I need to catch up on my training. I've slacked off for a whole month."

Yukari looked at him in disbelief. "That was you slacking off?"

"I was running at about 50% during our workouts," Akihiko confirmed.

Minato winced. "So I got my ass kicked by 50% of your strength?"

"You, ah...Well, I wouldn't say 'you got your ass kicked'..." he trailed.

"But I did." Minato said.

Akihiko shrugged. "You did alright."

"Anyways, are you up to get some training in during the Dark Hour?" He asked.

"I'm down to kill some shadows tonight," Junpei said.

"Shouldn't you take it easy, senpai? You don't wanna to re-injure your arm," Yukari commented.

"I've already wasted precious time. Besides, we found another Persona-user," Akihiko informed.

Junpei beamed at the news. "We did?! Sweet!"

"...is it a girl?" He asked giddily.

Akihiko nodded. "Actually it is, she's a junior that goes to our school. Fuuka Yamagishi...Do you guys know her?"

"Yamagishi...? Oh, that girl in 2-E...She gets sick a lot from what I've heard...I haven't seen her at school very often," Yukari mentioned.

"She was at the same hospital as me. That's how we found out about her. But, maybe she's not cut out for battle. I had an evoker made for her, too..." He said.

"What!? We're giving up on her already?" Junpei whined. "I was gonna offer her some private lessons..."

Yukari glared at teen with an unimpressed look on her face.

"W-Why're you lookin' at me like that?" He stammered.

He let out a nervous giggle as her glare continued. "C'mon...I'm a guy. Whaddya expect?"

Akihiko sighed and left the teens to their own devices.

"Remind me to sterilize any of your electronics before I touch them," Minato teased.

"Bro, don't go there. There's no way in hell you don't do _that_ ," Junpei accused as he raised his hands defensively.

Minato, for once, could be completely honest. Ever since his first visit to the command room, the thought of masturbating had been completely removed. It was already nerve wracking enough to have to piss in the trough's that the cadet's had to use as urinals. The thought of having a camera on him while he...attended himself was the best deterrent he'd ever encountered.

Minato looked the teen in the eyes and gave him a confident "Nope."

"W-Wha..? Nah man, you're just bullshitting me because she's here," Junpei said as he pointed to Yukari.

Yukari shook her head and sighed. "I want out of this conversation."

* * *

Mitsuru had been surprisingly resourceful with their newest fire team member. She'd managed to get an old riot suit from the police station that was mostly in shape. The generous foam and polyester pads were still intact but the helmet and hard plastic plates had long since been lost by the station's quartermaster.

Akihiko strapped on the thick foam chestpiece over his black BDU and gave Minato a thumbs up. "Ready when you are."

The rigid ceramic plates in Minato's plate carrier squeezed uncomfortably against his still tender ribs every time he breathed in a little too hard. The armor was stifling and uncomfortable on a good day, but right now it was downright torturing him. His "overclocking" supplies had recently run out and he was left having to experience the pain and fatigue without an analgesic aid to help him cope.

Minato exhaled and wiped his sweaty palms on his pants before taking a swig of his canteen to steel his nerves.

"Alright...I'm ready," he said.

Minato rallied his team and headed up the stairs.

* * *

"Hah, look at them scurrying away! They must really be scared of you, senpai!" Junpei exclaimed as he patted the senior's shoulder.

"Give yourself some credit. You practically wiped out all the shadows on this floor two weeks ago," Akihiko said.

Minato let them banter as he led the way to the barricade. Unfortunately for his sleep cycle, Elizabeth had called him earlier to announce that the path had been cleared. How? Fuck if he knew.

They climbed up the staircase as several cupids retreated into the nearby hallways for their own safety. The previous barrier blocking their ascension was now gone and a large staircase awaited the teens in it's place.

"C1, you see anything?" Minato asked as he dropped his mic down.

A soft crackle was heard before Mitsuru's voice played through their headsets. "I sense something formidable, but it's a good distance away from you. Outside of that I'm afraid Penthesilea won't be able to do much reconnaissance until you enter the AO."

 _In what world does that make sense?_ Minato furrowed his brow as he tried to come up a good explanation for her reconnaissance improving whenever they moved further away from her. Come to think of it, a lot of things didn't seem scientifically possible as of late. Glowing green teleporters, Persona's, the majority of the water on earth turning into blood...He'd just shot a fucking sentient table the past week. Despite all that, the curious side of him got the best of him.

"How will ascending help you get a visual? We aren't running camera feeds or anything like that." He pointed out.

A long pause filled the room before she finally responded, "...It just does. Please go up a floor."

"We're on our way." Akihiko cut in.

The boxer muted his mic before elbowing their field leader. "C'mon Arisato, I _just_ got the okay from my doctor. Don't go pissing off the boss just yet."

Minato nodded and slid his revolver out of it's cheap nylon holster before organizing his team more formally for their new venture into the unknown floors.

"Sanada, take point. Iori, stay a few meters to his right. I'll trail a meter behind you, and Takeba will hang back a meter behind me. Everyone got that?" He asked.

After getting nods from everyone he gave Akihiko the all clear to advance up the stairs.

* * *

"That's a freakin' lion," Junpei observed.

The beast lumbered around about a dozen meters away from them as it dragged around a ball and chain completely oblivious to their presence.

"We gonna kill it or what?" Akihiko asked as he shifted on his feet impatiently.

"Why piss it off? We should explore the place a bit more before getting into a fight with a lion," Yukari suggested.

Minato's hand slowly wandered to the Molotov cocktail he'd hastily tied to his belt with duct tape.

Yukari groaned. "You can't be ser-"

"Pass me my lighter, Junpei," Minato interrupted as he cut the petrol bomb free with his survival knife.

Junpei dug around the teen's plate carrier before retrieving a cheap bic lighter and handing it to the teen.

Minato lit the lighter and gingerly brought it's flame close to the damp rag at the end of the bottle. Once the cloth caught flame he reeled his arm back and chucked the makeshift explosive towards the unsuspecting shadow. The bottle shattered near the beast and began to spread all around the surrounding tile. The burning petrol crept up towards its paws and ignited its furr causing the shadow to jerk its body towards the team.

"We running or fighting?" Junpei asked as the engulfed beast began to steadily advance on them.

Minato raised his revolver and tried to get rid of the shaking in his arms. "Sanada, Iori, keep that thing away from us. Takeba and I will put it down."

The boxer didn't need to be told twice. He pressed the steel barrel of his evoker against his temple and jerked the trigger. "Polydeuces!"

The armored persona emerged from Akihiko's mind and reeled it's massive syringe arm back before thrusting it into the lion's head. An audible crack was heard as the shadow's frontal bone struggled to cope with the impact.

Polydeuces stepped aside and let the archer and the marksman take their shots. Yukari drew her bow as far as she could before releasing her steel tipped arrow. It arched over the shadow's head and dug a few centimeters into it's burning back. Minato took that as his cue and aimed at the lion's face before emptying the cylinder of his revolver as fast as he could. The shadow's face was peppered with shallow bullet wounds as six loud barks rang out before a soft "click" was heard.

Minato squeezed the trigger a few more times as his team back peddled to build some distance. The hammer refused to budge and his cylinder was stuck in place.

"S-Shit, I'm jammed here! Iori, take it out!" Minato ordered as he stowed the weapon in favor for his evoker.

The teen nodded and had Hermes engulf it with a brutal agi attack. The already sizable flames licking away at the shadow's skin intensified and caused the fire team to sweat from the radiating heat.

"Arisato, this enemy is resistant to piercing attacks. Avoid using firearms against it," Mitsuru advised.

"No shit," Yukari murmured as she stowed her bow and placed her evoker under her chin.

She followed up Junpei's attack with a garu spell that only exacerbated the flames to dangerously high levels. Akihiko stepped aside as the lion collapsed from the extensive damage done to it's joints. It let out one last groan before turning in a puddle of bubbling black ooze.

Yukari glanced at the beast's steaming remains as she wiped a bead of sweat off her brow.

"That was...surprisingly easy," she noted.

Akihiko nodded. "C'mon, that was just our warm-up. Let's go find another target."

Junpei chuckled and busted out his finger guns. "Hehe, I see what you did there senpai!"

"What...?" Akihiko asked.

"C'mon dude. 'That was just our warm-up', that's gold right there!" Junpei said.

Akihiko groaned and brushed the teen aside. "Arisato, you ready?"

Their field leader was stuck slapping the cylinder of his revolver as he tried to force it open.

"I, um...I've never actually used a revolver prior to all this…" He mumbled as he started hammering at the cylinder with his evoker.

"Forget it, just leave it as is until Kurosawa can take a look at it," Akihiko ordered.

Minato gave a frustrated sigh after trying to open it one last time. He stuffed it back into it's worn holster before resuming their expedition.

* * *

Akihiko was still full of energy by the time they got back to the dorm. The senior grabbed a protein shake out of the refrigerator and jogged up the stairs to get a round in with his punching bags.

Junpei look at the senior in amazement as he left before ripping the velcro straps off his armor and chucking the thick vest on the dorm's sofa. The black BDU he wore underneath was completely soaked in sweat.

Minato and Yukari followed suit. Their field leader tore his 12 kilo plate off and set it down on the coffee table before taking off his belt and stacking his revolver and evoker neatly on top of the armor. The brunette slid off her rubber gloves and wiped her sweaty hands on her uniform before taking a swig of her canteen.

Junpei unbuttoned his black jacket and fanned himself as he plopped down on the sofa.

"He's not human. There's no way he's not winded after that," Junpei said.

Minato nodded. "I lost count of how many lions and balances we killed."

Yukari gathered her equipment and made her way towards the staircase.

"I'm gonna take a shower. You guys can stay here and stink up the lobby if you want," she said.

Junpei gave Minato a sly grin before looking over his shoulder. "What, no invite for us?"

He was met with a middle finger and a bottle of aspirin to the forehead.

* * *

Minato was about to pass out from exhaustion from their earlier morning workout until his capped comrade roused him from his stupor.

"You hear about what happened?" Junpei asked as he sat on top of his desk.

Minato shook his head.

"Well, a girl from 2-E went missing last night. This morning, they found her lying on the ground in front of the school gate!" Junpei said.

His friend looked around the class for signs of their teacher before leaning in. "Nobody knows what happened, and supposedly, she's still unconscious."

Yukari waved to the two as she walked into the classroom. "Morning."

Minato offered her a tired nod.

Junpei waved the brunette over. "Yo, Yuka-tan. This is a tough case, even for Junpei Iori, Ace Detective."

She rubbed her eyes and looked at him incredulously. "...Ace Detective?"

"...Are you stupid or something? Hehe, more like 'Stupei, Ace Defective'," she added.

Junpei pointed at her. "Hey! I resent that," he said.

Yukari ignored him as she sat down in the desk adjacent to Minato.

"Anyway, where've you been? We got separated after the train ride," Junpei said.

"I was talking to the teacher. That girl they found… I saw her yesterday, on my way back from practice. Actually, you were there too Minato," she mentioned.

"Yep. Definitely not the nicest girl on campus," he noted.

She nodded. "That's putting it lightly, but back on topic, she seemed okay when we saw her."

Junpei stroked his goatee. "...Woah. Now that's really strange."

* * *

Minato had been hoping for a quiet dinner with his team after getting chewed out by Kurosawa for not cleaning his revolver after every trip to Tartarus. That hope had been shattered the second Junpei got bored of the silence.

"Hey Yuka-tan, have you seen the posts on the student message board? You know how last week that girl was found by the front gate?" He started.

Junpei gave Minato a knowing grin before leaning closer for dramatic effect. "Well, there's this rumor that it was an angry spirit from this one ghost story."

The girl's pupils dilated a bit as she crossed her arms. "H-Hey! C'mon...Nobody believes that stuff!? ...Right?"

Minato's stomach began to feel uneasy at the mention of a ghost. He'd rappelled from heights, fought people much larger than him, and walked through some sketchy neighborhoods at night without fear… But something about the paranormal always put him on edge. _Is it because it fucks with the rules of science? Is it a result of childhood trauma? Or am I just that big a pussy?_

Mitsuru picked up on their discomfort and egged Junpei on.

"So, what is this ghost story about?" She asked in a nonchalant manner.

Yukari's head snapped to face their leader. "Wha-!? It-It's probably made-up...so why bother!?"

Incredibly, Akihiko managed to catch on.

He folded his hands neatly and nodded to Junpei. "I'm interested. Go ahead, tell us."

Yukari exchanged a nervous glance with Minato as their senpai actually considered hearing Junpei out. "Um…"

Junpei ignored her and leaned in. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a surprisingly large flashlight before flicking off the dining room lights.

Minato felt Yukari inch her chair slightly closer to him as their friend flicked on the flashlight and illuminated his face.

"Good evening. Welcome to 'Junpei's Believe it, or Dont'," he said in a mysterious voice.

He took a deep breath for dramatic effect before continuing, "...There are strange things in this world...According to one story...if you get caught at school late at night, you'll be devoured by a maniacal ghost that roams the halls!"

 _This is all bullshit meant to scare Yukari..._ _ **Don't. Validate. It.**_ He took in a shallow breath and wiped the growing sweat from his palms. The brunette was wringing her hands under the table as she did her best not to let her fear show.

Their friend continued, "The other day, this friend of mine-let's call him Shu...He said to me, 'Junpei, I saw somethin' strange'. He sounded serious, so I asked him what'd he'd seen. He said it was about the girl in 2-E…"

That got Minato invested, like it or not this story might be relevant to recent events.

"He claims he saw her go into the school on the night of the incident. I couldn't believe it. She's not the kinda girl to be out at night...But Shu was as white as a sheet, he insisted it was true...Then it hit me…" Junpei said before pausing to gauge their reactions.

Their senpai were all smiles while Yukari was hanging on to every word he said. Minato was trying hard not to show it, but he was wiping his hands on his pants a little too often to be calm and collected.

Now that he had them hooked, it was time to reel them in. "That ghost must've tried to make her it's dinner! And that's why they found her lying on the ground by the gate! I felt a chill run down my spine, and I broke into a cold sweat…"

Minato swallowed a little louder than he needed to before getting jolted by the feeling of Yukari's hands wrapping around his forearm.

Junpei sighed before looking Yukari in the eyes. "Yes, there are strange things in this world...Believe it… or don't."

* * *

With that, Junpei flicked the lights back on and stuffed the flashlight back into his jacket.

Mitsuru saw her two nervous kohai huddled together and couldn't resist continuing her game.

The aristocrat mimicked the boxer's folded hands and turned to face him.

"...What do you think, Akihiko?" She asked.

Junpei waved to get her attention. "Huh…? Not one word about my frankly amazing performance just now?"

Akihiko ignored the teen and reached into his vest before retrieving a small planner.

"I think it's worth investigating," he offered.

Mitsuru took the planner and jotted down some details of Junpei's story.

Their comrade rubbed his goatee as he eyed the two fire team members.

"Wow, I didn't know you guys were afraid of ghosts. That's kinda funny," he commented.

Yukari released Minato's sleeve before pointing at Junpei threateningly. "H-Hey, watch it!"

She huffed and stood up. "F-Fine, then let's investigate. We'll each ask around for the rest of the week. I'll prove to you that this ghost story is just an urban legend!"

Mitsuru nodded. "I appreciate that. The story is a bit unnerving."

That put a dent in Yukari's confidence.

She looked at the senior in surprise. "Huh...?"

Akihiko saw his opportunity to leave before getting signed on by Mitsuru and he took it gracefully.

"Then I'll let you guys handle it," he said as he slung his coat over his shoulder.

He walked to the staircase before turning around to look at Minato and Yukari.

"Just make sure to sleep with one eye open…" He teased.

Mitsuru left them as she walked to her dorm scribbling notes on the planner the entire way.

Minato groaned. "I didn't sign up for any of this…"

The brunette placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You'll help me...right?" Yukari asked.

He looked up from his seat to meet her gaze before immediately regretting his decision. Her soft brown eyes destroyed his previous reservations as he gave her a curt nod.

"Of course."


	15. Chapter 15

**AN:** Ayy, guess who still sucks at writing? I managed to get 8k of garbage down this time. The next chapter is ~20% done right now, so I'll have it ready to sate the surprisingly large Bulgarian audience that this story attracted pretty soon. I'll make some kompot in their honor before releasing it. As always, I don't know what the fuck I'm doing and anyone that does should let me know how to salvage this literary melanoma.

To give some perspective as to where the team is ingame, they're around level 18 right now.

* * *

 **The Investigation**

"Good evening."

Minato stirred from his sleep as he rubbed his bleary eyes.

"Need something?" He asked the kid.

The original sense of fear towards his presence had long since been overwhelmed by annoyance at his inconvenient choice of visiting hours.

The kid sat on the foot of his bed before swinging his legs lazily. "I came to see you again, as I promised. How are you?"

"Tired," Minato muttered.

"...In another week, the moon will be full again. And the next ordeal will be upon you. So, be careful."

Minato stared at the kid before nodding. "Huh...Alright, I'll prepare the team."

He laid his head back down on the pillow before looking at the kid one last time. "...Thanks for the heads up."

The child smiled and gave him a short bow. "I'll come again."

With that, Minato was once again alone in his room.

* * *

Junpei had decided to savor another ten minutes of sleep leaving Minato and Yukari on their own. They walked to the school gates in relative silence as Minato tried to recover from his ghost child induced exhaustion.

Yukari turned to face her field leader. "Ya know what? From this day forward, I'm gonna do my best!"

He gave her a thumbs up. "You gonna start reading the infantry handbook then?"

Yukari groaned after being reminded of the 130 page book sitting idly on her counter.

"Ugh, but it's sooo freakin' long!" She whined.

"I get that a lot," Minato deadpanned.

She rolled her eyes. "Real mature, Minato."

He shrugged and feigned ignorance. "I don't get it."

The girl's eyes widened. "Huh? Oh, I thought...forget it," she said.

She took in a deep breath to wipe away her embarrassment before looking up at him.

"Anyways, I meant that I was gonna do my best for our investigation," she clarified.

"Alright, but we're going to Tartarus tonight," Minato instructed.

She looked around to make sure there wasn't anyone eavesdropping before leaning in.

"I thought your gun was still getting fixed," she whispered.

He opened his backpack and revealed a filled out requisition form with Mitsuru's stamp on it.

"Kirijo accountants can pull off miracles," he said before tucking the paper back into it's folder.

* * *

"Don't. Forget. To. Clean. It."

Minato held the three kilo shotgun in his arms as he admired its finer details. His fingers trailed across its smooth wooden furniture and the cool steel barrel. He snapped the barrel open and peered into its smooth bore before closing it and handing it back to Kurosawa.

"We only used carbines and bolt-action rifles...You have an owner's manual or something? I don't want to field strip it and end up with spare parts after reassembling it." Minato said as he handed a cash filled envelope to the officer.

"Forget field stripping it. Just clean the barrel with a rag and some motor oil after using it," he instructed.

"Will do. Got an update on the revolver?" Minato asked.

"The ejector rod's bent and your crane assembly is scuffed to all hell. I'm gonna have to order replacements when the opportunity arises. The Kirijo Group can shut a lot of people up, but I can't exactly get these things the conventional way," Kurosawa said.

The officer stuffed the single shot gun back into its carrying case before waving him away. "Now get out of here. I've got some calls to make."

* * *

"Arisato, we're ready whenever you're done staring at that corner," Akihiko said as he curled their ammo can.

Minato blinked as he left the velvet room and returned to the lobby.

"Arisato?" Mitsuru called out.

Their field leader glanced around as he tried to reorient himself. "Hm?"

"We're ready man," Junpei said as he ran his blade through its sharpener.

"I need you at 100%, Arisato. I don't want to pull rank and take charge of the fire team, but if you're zoning out like this you'll force my hand," Akihiko chastised.

"It won't be a problem," Minato assured.

He unslung his shotgun before flipping the top lever and placing a shell into its barrel. He gave his plate carrier one last tug to ensure it was secure before rallying his team.

After having gone into the tower so many times the feeling of dread had gone down significantly. The anxiety still followed him, but his team was more or less cohesive and everyone seemed to share a mutual trust. Whether it was out of camaraderie or raw survival instincts, they had each other's backs, and that was a powerful reassurance that muted the worst of his fears.

He spared a glance at the senior as he shadow boxed in place. His presence had been a significant aid to their morale. His past combat with the shadows, athletic record, and age all factored into making him the most ideal role model in the field they could ask for. Minato's formal military education and cadet training gave him some pull with his subordinates, but Akihiko was a true veteran of the conflict. He looked forward to combat and managed to stay level headed in the heat of battle. Minato couldn't help but envy the teen's prowess.

He took a deep breath before taking a tentative step towards the staircase. "Alright, same formation as last time."

* * *

The Phantom Mage fired another agi spell at their resident swordsman. The vibrant flames died down significantly before lightly touching the teen's armor and leaving a small scorch mark. Hermes chuckled at the minuscule residue that struck his master before swooping down and raking his wings across the Mage's abdomen.

Yukari fired an arrow at the shadow's head to draw its attention away from Junpei and left Minato with a clear shot.

The field leader lined up his sights as best he could before sending a one ounce slug towards the shadow. The slug punched through the Mage's pelvis with enough force to shear its leg off and sent the creature sprawling to the floor.

The team readied their weapons as they circled the downed shadow. It was one of their more recent tactics gained with their increased confidence, an 'all out attack' as Akihiko coined it.

Minato gave them a nod and set them loose.

"I've been waiting for this!" Akihiko growled as he charged the shadow.

The boxer reeled his fist back and hammered away at the Mage's mask as its arms were cleanly removed by Junpei's bastard sword. Yukari flipped her folding knife open and got in some half-assed stabs while Junpei's two kilo blade did the heavy lifting. Akihiko swung his brass knuckles down one last time as the bone-like mask gave way to a small pool of ichor.

A feeling of euphoria filled the teens as the shadow's death empowered their personas. They scanned the small atrium for additional targets, not knowing if another wave of shadows would come to investigate the gunshot. Once the coast looked clear they lowered their weapons and dug into their canteens and rations.

An unexpected side effect of their desensitization to the Dark Hour was the enormous caloric cost that longer expeditions carried. Minato had done a few 10 kilometer humps back in his day, body armor and rucksack included. The 1200 calorie MRE's they were given had seemed like overkill at the time, but now he felt like he could tear through a box of them. Not even during their brutal summer marches did he ever feel hunger to the same degree.

He ignored his growling stomach and unmuted his headset while his team dug around vigorously for any scraps of food in their packs.

"C1, I think that's it for this floor. 4 EKIA's no friendly WIA's," Minato reported as he chambered a new shell.

A soft crackle was heard as Mitsuru's voice filled their comms. "Copy that. You're getting close to that presence...It's your call if you want to advance."

"We're starvin' over here Minato!" Junpei cried out as he patted his empty cracker box.

Akihiko nodded. "Yeah, I'm all out of food here. Not really looking to lose potential gains from this session."

He turned to face Yukari only to get an empty bag of chips waved in his face.

Minato nodded to his team. "Negative on the next floor, C1."

"Collect what you can before RV'ing at the FOB. I've scheduled a car to come pick us up," she said before closing her comms channel.

"You heard the CO. First one to find a briefcase doesn't have to help lift the motorcycle. Now get moving," he ordered.

* * *

Minato ripped off his plate carrier and plopped down on the sofa. Their senpai had left the dorm to try and find a restaurant open at one in the morning leaving Minato with the sole responsibility of making sure they didn't burn down the dorm.

Junpei stripped off his BDU jacket and set it down neatly on the coffee table before propping his feet on it.

"Wow, no rigid posture and poker face? You're getting soft, Minato," Junpei teased.

"You must be a bad influence on me," Minato said.

"No, really. Why'd you lose all that prim n' proper shit these past few weeks?" He asked.

He'd been asking himself the same question. Outside of their summer exercises, Minato was usually strictly business with his peers. Sure, he had banter and shot the shit with his old squad, but even they stayed on a last name basis. Most of them anyways. Then again, he'd never been in a life or death combat scenario with them. Not wanting to die had a way of bringing people together.

Minato shrugged. "I'm usually like that in front of new people. Some people are all smiles, others like to joke a lot. Me? Well, I'm professional to a fault."

"Glad to see you're not a robot afterall," Junpei said with a grin.

Minato returned the grin. "Glad to see you're not a dumbass."

A kevlar vest flopped down on the coffee table as their resident archer entered the lobby.

"He isn't?" Yukari asked as she sat down next to Minato.

Junpei crossed his arms and sunk into his cushion. "Hey! I resent that."

"Resenting reality will get you nowhere," she hummed.

"Whatever. I'm only 6% away from your score," Junpei pointed out.

"My tests were harder," she reminded.

The teen brushed her off with a wave of his hand. "Pfft, just barely."

"Then it's established. You're _barely_ not a dumbass," Minato declared.

Junpei rolled his eyes before turning his attention to his new phone.

It was a bit unnerving to think about how Mitsuru had managed to get most of their data transferred seamlessly to their smartphones, but having Japan's most talented engineers on her payroll probably helped out. _And that's not even accounting for her private detecti-_

Minato was knocked out of his train of thought by a nudge on his arm.

"You going to practice tomorrow?" Yukari asked.

He shook his head. "Nah, I'm gonna ditch with Yuko and grab some food."

She looked at him inquisitively. "Since when were you two close?"

"Hm? I've walked her home twice already," he said.

"My man! You barely joined the archery club and you already managed to hook up with the manager," Junpei cheered.

"We ain't dating or anything like that. I mean...she's cute n' all, but I think Miyamoto-san already has his sights set on her," Minato explained.

Yukari raised an eyebrow. "Why'd you walk her home then?"

"In the off chance that I'm wrong about Miyamoto-san," he admitted.

* * *

"What's this?"

Minato's hands subconsciously drifted closer to his folding knife as the dealer took a step closer.

"It's gold. Feel free to test it," Minato said.

One of the beasts they'd taken down had dropped a gold medallion. He'd normally report something like that in, but he couldn't afford to leave a paper trail for his more illicit purchases. So here he was, in some brothel waiting for the dealer to give him his pills.

The man flipped the medallion in his hand before nodding. "Alright, stay here. You try to run for it and my friends outside will beat your head in."

"I'll stay put," Minato said as he took a seat on the room's filthy mattress.

He slipped out his phone and checked his messages. _Figures._ Mitsuru had sent him five texts within the past twenty minutes.

' _Arisato, where are you?'_

' _Arisato, the Dark Hour will commence in two hours. Please make your way back to the dorm.'_

' _Arisato!'_

He had to fight the temptation to casually reply that he was just out buying drugs. He wasn't sure of what to think about the aristocrat. She had invested heavily into him and had made an effort to get closer to him, but he couldn't shake the feeling that in the end their relationship was utilitarian. She needed a field leader, and he needed money. _Perhaps I'm just projecting…_

A paper bag smacked him in the chest. He looked up to see his dealer holding the medallion with a look of approval on his face.

"Two troy ounces of 10 karat gold. Not too shabby. I packed a little extra for you since this is worth more than your last payment," he said before pointing to the door.

"Now get outta here kid, you don't wanna be in Shirakawa Boulevard past 11 o'clock."

* * *

Minato's throat dried as he saw Mitsuru flipping through a file in the lobby.

"You're back," she said nonchalantly.

He gave her a nod as he took a seat on the adjacent sofa. "Yep."

"What were you up to at this hour?" She interrogated.

"Oh you know, just buying drugs and hanging out in brothels," he deadpanned.

Mitsuru rolled her eyes. "Very funny Arisato, now tell me the truth."

"I was working at the Cafe. They pay surprisingly well for an afternoon shift," he said.

Mitsuru lost her icy demeanor and relaxed her posture as he explained himself.

"There's no need for you to work. The Kirijo Group can cover any needed operational and recreational expenses," she reminded him.

The teen suppressed a fist pump as he managed to maintain his poker face. _Holy shit, she bought the lie. Well...I DID tell her the truth. Technically._

He shrugged. "It feels wrong to just take money like that. I'm used to having to earn my keep."

Mitsuru's gaze soften as she spoke,"You are earning your keep. We pay our security teams 6,000,000 yen a year to do less dangerous work. What you and the rest of the fire team do is worth so much more than just paid tuition."

"It's your organization. If you don't want me to work, I won't work," he said.

Mitsuru sighed before shaking her head. "That's not what I meant...What I'm trying to say is that you're already providing us with a valuable service. Anything you or the team needs or wants has already been paid for by your blood and sweat."

That thought hadn't occurred to him. A recruit made about 1,500,000 yen per year, and they didn't even see combat. Hell, police officers were probably more seasoned than most of them. Yet here they were, losing limbs and sleep while only getting their 800,000 yen tuition covered. He might as well be a little bold.

"Huh...I could use 100,000 yen in that case," he quipped.

Mitsuru nodded. "I'll have the funds transferred in one business day."

Minato looked at aristocrat in shock as she sat elegantly. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't tell if she was just playing along or if she was serious.

"I was joking…" He clarified.

"I wasn't. Like I said before Ar-" she paused and took a breath before looking him in the eye.

"Like I said before Minato-kun, you've gone above and beyond for SEES. This is the least I can do to repay you."

"...Thank you, Mitsuru-senpai."

 ***crash***

" _I art thou._

 _Thou art I._

 _Thou shalt have our blessing when thou chooseth to summon a Persona of the Empress Arcana."_

Minato felt his palms sweat as he started to realize that the aristocrat held some fondness for him. He trusted her to be professional, but declining a billionaire's affections would probably end horribly. _Not that'd I'd mind starting something with the gorgeous billionaire_ _..._ He brushed the thought aside as images of him getting kidnapped by Kirijo security filled his head.

* * *

Minato fired another arrow before stepping aside to let Yukari shoot. Kazushi had been absent from their practice session again, no doubt from his shoulder injury. The two of them were the only people left on the range after all the other members had decided to call it a day early since their star marksman had played hooky. Unfortunately for him, Yukari had been adamant that they stay and finish practicing.

"You've gotten waaay better at this since last week. I've never seen you this accurate," Yukari observed.

He let her step aside before notching an arrow and taking aim. The adderall running through his system didn't actually improve his dexterity or eyesight. It rid him of all the distractions around him and aided in letting him channel his concentration on individual tasks.

"Must be because I'm not distracted by exams this week," he mused.

His arrow arched neatly before striking the inner red band of their target. Yukari gave him a nod of approval before taking her own shot.

"So... I'm not the only one that gets kinda nervous in Tartarus, right?" She asked as she recorded her score.

 _No._ Minato looked at the archery target as the brunette awaited his answer. _If I say yes, it'll either bring us closer or make me look weak. If I say no, it'll reinforce my position as the field leader or make her feel inferior. Or a combination of the two…_

He fired his arrow before leaning against the nearby wall of their outdoor range.

"I get the shakes sometimes...especially with the floor guardians," he admitted.

She sighed before packing her bow. "That's reassuring. I was worried I was the only one."

"It's nothing to be ashamed of. All things considered, it'd probably be strange if you weren't scared of going into a tower filled with monsters," he noted.

"Huh. I never thought about it like that," she said.

She shuffled her feet awkwardly before looking at him.

"Ya know... I still get weirded out by the fact that we might die doing this. Like, if we make one mistake, we'll die. No one will know how or why. The Kirijo group will throw some cash around, and it'll be like we never existed. I don't know if I can stay onboard if things get more dangerous," she revealed.

Minato felt a feeling of dread build up. He tried to make peace with death. He knew his time would come eventually and the party would come to an end, but the thought of just ceasing to exist terrified him. To have no memory, no conscious, no input, that was worse than hell for him. He didn't understand the appeal of religion and mocked it as the opiate of the masses during his early adolescence, but now...now he understood what a _tremendous_ comfort the concept of an afterlife was.

He nodded."I think that's reasonable. The way I try to look at it is through the lens of altruism, 'I'll die for two of my children or four of my brothers'. You know, that shit they went over in bio. I figure that 200,000,000 countrymen are worth my life."

"It's actually kinda sad, here we are discussing life and death and I can't leave the biological perspective," he added.

A silence filled the range as the two stared at the sky, both of them deep in thought.

Eventually Yukari gave a soft chuckle before looking her field leader in the eye.

"I wasn't expecting to talk about this sorta stuff with you. You've really opened up," she observed.

 _Likewise._ His fire team had a way of melting past the walls he put up.

He shrugged. "You literally save my life twice a week. That kinda makes it easier to talk to you than someone like our manager."

At the mention of their manager, Yukari grinned devilishly before crossing her arms.

"You still trying to get in her pants?" She teased.

"I think Miyamoto-san made his move. That just leaves me with four romance options now…" he trailed.

She rolled her eyes. "You read too much harem porn."

* * *

"The presence is just up ahead. Please don't hesitate to retreat if it gets out of hand," Mitsuru advised.

"We'll be careful Mitsuru. I'll bring everyone back in one piece," Akihiko reassured.

Minato suppressed an annoyed sigh at the senior's interjection. He knew it was stupid, Akihiko outranked him after all. But after having spent 7 years towards the bottom of the pecking order (albeit by his own volition) he loathed to give up the reigns. Still, Akihiko had allowed him to keep his role as their field leader. That alone commanded some respect.

Junpei popped another stick of gum in his mouth before practicing the swings that Mitsuru had recommended for him. The teen had recently taken up the gum habit, whether it was to calm his stomach or his anxiety was anyone's guess.

"Let's get this over with," Junpei muttered as he swung his blade.

Yukari notched an arrow and offered him a nod.

"Alright, take point Sanada," Minato ordered.

* * *

"C1, could you scan these…'tables'?" Minato requested.

"Pardon me? Oh...Oh! Just a second," Mitsuru replied.

The teens waited anxiously for Mitsuru as they stared at the demonic dinnerware. Minato leveled his shotgun at the center target and dug his finger behind the trigger to ensure he wouldn't fire prematurely.

Eventually the familiar sound of static filled their headsets as Mitsuru debriefed them. "The enemy is weak to ice and takes normal damage from electricity and wind attacks. Anything else is ineffective."

Minato slung his shotgun over his shoulder after receiving the new information.

"So just use Jack Frost? Got it," he said.

"I wouldn't recommend that, this shadow is quite adept with fire based attacks," she warned.

He willed away the image of the jolly persona in his mind. "Ah, thanks for the heads up C1. We got it from here."

Minato took a deep breath before focusing his mind on his newly acquired persona. Once he felt prepared he pressed the barrel of his evoker underneath his chin and squeezed the trigger.

"Zouchouten, stand by. Limit all your attacks to zio abilities," he ordered.

His team stood around anxiously as they awaited his instructions. _Takeba should be safe, her jumpsuit is built to withstand extreme heat. Junpei has his natural immunity and I'm protected by Zouchouten's resistance...That leaves Sanada._

He mulled over potential plans before finally addressing his fire team. "Sanada, hang back and use zio attacks with Yukari and I. We'll be focusing on them one at a time. The rest of you, get in a Y formation."

The senior nodded and slipped off his bulky brass knuckles in favor for his evoker.

Minato had to give the man credit. Even in his drugged up state he couldn't help but feel a little nervous at the prospect of taking on another guardian. Akihiko, however, was still calm and collected. Hell, the guy looked excited.

 _Just another reason to look up to him. Don't know why Mitsuru didn't make him the field leader, he's_ _ **clearly**_ _the better choice._ He brushed the thought aside as the team managed to make a half-assed 'Y' before summoning their respective personas and preparing for battle.

Minato faced palmed as he recalled Mitsuru's analysis. "Junpei, you can't hurt them and they can't hurt you. Try and keep them distracted while we get some hits in."

The teen spit out his gum and unsheathed his blade. "Ready."

"Alright, everyone focus fire on the center target...now!" He yelled.

Two brutal zio attacks knocked the center table down only to get shredded to splinters by a garu spell.

Junpei waved at the remaining shadows as he jogged around them and nipped at their legs with his sword. The tables apathetic masks turned to fire an agi spell at the teen only to have it soaked up by Hermes.

The team fired another barrage of spells at the rightmost shadow and reduced it to a pile of warm ash.

"C'mon! This is too easy!" Akihiko taunted as Polydeuces lined up a shot on the remaining shadow.

The guardian turned it's blank mask to face the boxer before unleashing a magari spell on the fire team. The flames licked away uselessly against Yukari's jumpsuit and Minato's ceramic armor. Akihiko's soft polyester and foam armor did not share the same fate. The plastic burned and bubbled away as a wave of gag inducing fumes filled the room. Akihiko ripped his chestpiece free and dropped to his knee as the pulsating pain from his burns began to drive him mad. His kevlar shirt and BDU had a sizable hole near his sternum were his body was rapidly diverting fluid to try and cool the wound.

"Takeba!" He grunted as his fingers gingerly touched the perimeter of the swollen red area on his chest.

Yukari turned Io's attention away from the shadow and had her mend the senior's wounds.

Junpei did his best to hold the shadow's attention as Hermes flew around in circles and gave it superficial scratches with his wings. Despite his best efforts the shadow turned to aim at their downed comrade.

"Junpei, get back!" He heard Minato bark out.

The teen hopped away just in time to see a bolt of lightning strike the table. It buckled under the impact and jerked it's mask away from the boxer to face the new threat.

"Not gonna work you fu-" Minato was interrupted by an intense feeling of nausea as a purple mist washed over him.

He gagged and collapsed to the floor as his eyes filled with tears and mucus streamed freely from his nostrils. His lungs burned as sweat began to pour from his forehead and the nausea reached it's tipping point. He vomited his rations on the tile floor as the faded sounds of battle rang all around him. Minato tried to steady himself and got on his knees before hunching over and heaving again. He collapsed to his side as he struggled to take in another breath of air.

A thundering sound resounded and the feeling of nausea vanished and gave way to exhaustion as he lay against the cold tile.

Minato felt a pair of hands grab his plate carrier as he was slowly dragged away from his vomit and towards their archer.

"What the hell happened to him?" She asked as she ripped open a packet of sterile wipes and dabbed away at their leader's face.

Junpei shrugged. "I dunno, all I remember was this purple cloud. He took in one breath of that shit and just started heaving."

Minato groaned as he forced himself to sit upright and lowered his mic.

"C1, please tell me you didn't see any of that," he said through ragged breaths.

"...In vivid detail," she replied.

He sighed and brushed away Yukari before taking his senior's outstretched hand and finding his footing.

"I need a shower," Minato muttered.

Akihiko took a wiff of his burnt jacket before gagging slightly at the scent of melted plastic and kevlar.

"You and me both," he agreed.

* * *

Mitsuru wouldn't call herself socially inept. She'd had pretty extensive communications training thanks to her future occupation as a CEO and her circle of friends was...well, it existed. Right now though, the brunette across from her left her scrambling for conversation topics.

"How would you describe your last mission?" Mitsuru asked.

Yukari rolled her eyes at the bluntness of her leader. "I didn't get burned to death and everyone got out alive. I'd call it business as usual."

Mitsuru swallowed her frustration and offered the younger girl a forced smile. "I see...And have you been sleeping well after missions?"

 _God, you're worse than Akihiko._ She bit her lip as she waited to see how her kohai would react to question.

"Better. Look, I know you're trying to look out for us and all...but we're fine. You don't have to call us into your 'office' one by one," Yukari said as she sipped her tea.

She was right. Her brain had been screaming at her that this little meeting would backfire and her subordinate had confirmed it. Takeba already held some disdain for her, anything that would further exacerbate the issue had to be carefully avoided from now on.

Mitsuru measured her words before exhaling and looking at the teen. "The reason I asked was because Minato-san recommended you as our official medic. I need to know if you're in a position to tackle on more responsibility before I commit the resources."

That took the archer by surprise. She mulled over her senior's words before nodding.

"Hmm...now that exams are outta the way I guess I can add a bit more load to my schedule," Yukari said.

She offered the girl a genuine smile and presented her with a more sophisticated medical kit. Yukari eyed the professional grade equipment before raising an eyebrow at her.

"As you may be aware, the Kirijo Group sponsors most hospitals in Iwatodai. I know that you're preoccupied with other responsibilities, not to mention your social life, but perhaps we might be able to schedule some paramedic training with one of the ambulance crews," Mitsuru informed.

Yukari cringed at the thought of having more of her scarce free time consumed. "Isn't that a bit much, senpai? Dia seems to work pretty well."

"Be honest Takeba-san, how many times can you use it at full strength? Eight? Maybe ten if you're willing to forgo your offensive abilities?" Mitsuru asked.

"I, ah...I see your point," Yukari conceded.

Mitsuru dug around her purse before retrieving her cell phone. "Shall I make the appointment then?"

"...Fine."

* * *

Friday had come around and Minato hadn't even bothered to ask anyone outside of his class for information on the ghost rumor. Junpei seemed to share a similar fate as he took a seat next to him on the sofa. The teen adjusted his cap before reaching for another stick of gum. Minato exhaled and loosened his tie as Yukari stepped forward to interrogate them.

"Okay, as we agreed on Monday, we'll now hold a meeting to discuss what we learned," she spoke.

Junpei gave her whistle as he reclined in his seat. "Wow, you're really into this."

She grinned at the teen before nodding. "Of course, I got lots of good info."

"It turns out no angry ghost was involved," she said triumphantly.

Junpei rolled his eyes. "Oh, so that's what's important, huh?"

She brushed off his comment and continued, "Hmph. First off, let's talk about how this rumor got started…"

"Since the girl was found on school grounds, there's at least one similarity to the ghost story. But, why did the rumor spread so fast if this is the first time anything happened?" She asked Minato.

His throat went dry as his brain tried to come up with the most vague plausible bullshit it could craft on short notice.

"There...There was more than one victim," he mumbled out.

The girl nodded and gave him an approving smile. "Correct! But yeah, I was surprised when I found out the reason...Over the next few days, there were two more similar incidents. All three victims were hospitalized, no wonder people were talking."

She let the information sink in before resuming, "Next. The victims are in different classes and they don't seem to be connected. However, they did have one thing in common. What was it?"

 _Fuck._

Junpei spared him as he interjected, "What is this, a quiz show?"

He turned to face Minato and looked at him for support, "Do YOU know?"

 _You fucked me, Junpei!_

"T-They...um...they hung out together?" He said meekly.

He was met with another smile from the brunette. "Yup, that's right! Not just once or twice either. They got in with a bad crowd and were always out late. It can't be just a coincidence…"

She brought out her phone and started typing away into her GPS app. "Sooo, to find out what happened, we're gonna do a little field research."

Junpei groaned. "Field research, are you kidding?"

"Yeah, there's this one place where the three victims were regulars," she mentioned.

Junpei's face blanched as she finished speaking. "Wait, you're not talking about that place behind Port Island station, are you...?"

"Oh, you're familiar with it?" She asked.

"You can't go there! I've heard some nasty rumors about that place!" He warned.

Yukari smirked. "Is that so? Well then, maybe we should all go together."

She turned to face Minato. "You'll come, right?"

"I dunno...Junpei, how bad is the spot?" He asked.

Junpei shook his head. "Forget it, that place is bad news. I mean, don't you think we're getting in over our heads?"

"Up until now, all we've done is take orders. Does that feel right to you?" She asked.

Junpei sighed. "I know what you mean, but...Man, did you have to say it like that?"

Minato couldn't help but feel awkward as the two went on about following orders. It probably didn't help that he'd been giving an awful lot of those as of late.

"Ahem..." he coughed out as he did his best to look nonchalant.

Yukari blushed a bit in realization. "N-Not that _you're_ the problem," she corrected.

"Whatever, this isn't some Yakuza hangout. Just...wear a bulletproof shirt under your uniform. Might as well be overly cautious for something like this," he advised.

Junpei nodded. "I'm only going if I get to wear some protection."

Yukari rolled her eyes. "Fine ya big babies, we'll wear the shirts. Let's stop by tomorrow in the afternoon."

"Alright. Let's go to Tartarus tonight," Minato suggested.

Junpei crossed his arms. "Again!? Bro, I got a fever. I'm just gonna drag you guys down."

"Hmm, okay. You can sleep in today; I'm not gonna have you risk your neck if you're not at 100%," Minato said.

Akihiko's head peeked in from the kitchen doorway.

"We going to Tartarus?" He asked giddily.

* * *

The fire team easily tore through the shadows in the next ten floors. Those that weren't pissing their pants were being bisected by one ounce of lead traveling at 1,500 feet per second.

His team was currently resting against the purple walls of Tartarus as they struggled to replace all the calories they'd expended to get to this floor. Mitsuru had warned them that the next guardian was one floor above them and they weren't about to get distracted by their hunger during a difficult battle.

"How's that armor treating you, senpai?" Yukari asked.

Akihiko was stuck wearing Junpei's armor, much to his dismay.

"My old one was pretty bulky, but this takes it to a whole new level," he noted.

Minato polished off his canteen before checking to see if his shotgun was loaded. He flipped the top lever and cracked the barrel open only to have a shell eject and smack him in the eye.

"Agh, shit!" He grunted out as he rubbed his teary eye.

 _ **Eyes**_ _and ears you moron!_ Minato cursed his stupidity as his team struggled to restrain their laughter at his display.

"Gun got your eye?" Yukari asked with suppressed laughter.

"I swear to god I'm competent," he deadpanned as he tried to recover his dignity.

* * *

Gurr shielded his master as the Change Relic sent a powerful garula spell his way. The winged demon soaked up the worst of it and left Minato with only a few small lacerations on his legs. The teen ejected his spent shell and popped in a new one as the statue turned its attention back to their senpai.

Minato lined up his sights and shot a slug round at the shadow's head. The ornate carving on the statue's face shattered away as the lead slug punched its way through the brittle marble. The shadow ignored the blow and sent a stream of purple gas towards Akihiko. The boxer held his breath and rolled out of the way. Despite his best efforts, he inhaled a small bit of gas that left him in a coughing fit.

Yukari lit their last petrol bomb before chucking it at the shadow. The flames engulfed the statue and left its already brittle material in a more vulnerable state.

Polydeuces took advantage of the creature's distraction and reeled back it's large syringe-like arm before punching a chunk out of the statute to draw attention away from its master. Yukari cast Dia on her coughing senpai to lessen his convulsions. The boxer cleared his throat a few times before giving her a thumbs up and pummeling away at the statue.

"Gurr, knock it down!" Minato ordered as he ejected his spent shell.

The demon nodded and swooped down to push to statue down. With a kick from his powerful legs, the shadow tipped over away from Akihiko and shattered against the tile floor. Akihiko marched over to its mask and raised his boot before smashing it repeatedly.

"Is it dead?" Yukari asked as she scanned the room.

Minato walked over to the shattered statue and fired a slug into its remains.

"Probably," he said after giving it a few kicks.

Akihiko slung an arm over the teen's shoulder. "That gas...It's no joke, let me tell you."

"We need masks..." Minato thought out loud.

"Let's just get to the next barrier before you bankrupt us," Akihiko proposed.

He rolled his eyes and motioned for Akihiko to move. "Fine, take point."

* * *

Minato rested his legs as he reclined against his chair. He didn't make a habit of visiting the velvet room during the Dark Hour, but he might as well get her requests out of the way.

He reached into his rucksack and pulled the manila envelope they'd recovered. "Here's the document."

Elizabeth clapped excitedly as she reached for the document.

"Your cooperation is most appreciated, Minato-sama," she cooed.

She reached into her purse and pulled out an armored bikini.

"Here is your reward, as promised," she said with a grin as she placed the armor on his lap.

He looked at the cloth awkwardly for a few seconds before handing it back to Elizabeth.

"For some reason I don't think this is the 'balm of life' you promised me," he said sarcastically.

"Quite right Minato-sama, I offer you an even greater reward!" She cheered as she thrust it back into his arms.

Minato rubbed his temples as he tried to find a way to convince the woman.

"Okay, there's two glaring issues with this 'armor'. Number 1: It only protects the genitals. Number 2: I'd probably get an arrow to the face if I tried to get our female member to wear it," he explained.

She leaned in closer and pouted. "You're a persuasive man, surely you could find a way to make it work…"

He pushed the armor back into her arms. "No."

She shrugged. "Hmm...if you insist."

"I'd like my balm of life, please," he deadpanned.

She gave him a small bow. "Of course, Minato-sama."

* * *

"You guys ready?" Yukari asked as she shouldered her purse.

Minato exchanged an uneasy look with Junpei before shrugging. "I'm about as ready as I'll ever be."

"If I get shot, it's on you," Junpei said as he pointed to Yukari.

She rolled her eyes. "What happened to all your bravado, Junpei? You're usually the one that brags the most after a trip to Tartarus."

"Man, I don't get it. How can you be scared of ghosts, but not this?" He asked.

"It's easy to get freaked out by something that you can't see, don'tcha think?" She argued.

Junpei locked eyes with her and spoke in a condescending voice, "Actually, I'm more worried about things I CAN see...like bats and knives!"

She sighed. "Pfft, big deal. So it's a little 'dangerous'...C'mon, it'll be an adventure."

"Adventure!? Look, I'm cool with fighting in Tartarus because we're killing monsters. We can't fight back against these dudes without it escalating to broken bones and stab wounds," Junpei pointed out.

"So don't fight them," she chided.

"Takeba, this is kinda on the extreme side of the bell curve of bad ideas. Junpei, we got armor on so quit fretting. Now that that's settled, let's get moving," Minato interjected.

* * *

"...The hell?"

Minato sighed as he heard one of the local thugs. He'd been hoping to just slip in and out of the alley, but it seems that'd they'd have to deal with the welcoming committee first.

The thugs friend stood up from his folding chair and pointed to them.

"Check out those rags...They're from Gekkou High," he said with disdain.

"Fuck me, man. We shoulda come earlier…" Junpei whispered.

Minato nodded and readied himself for the worst.

"Hey, you. I think you're in the wrong place," warned the thug.

"Uh...well, I…" Junpei mumbled.

The thug took a few steps closer to the trio and singled out Junpei. "You don't belong here, get it? Beat it, Goatee..."

"G-Goatee? Oh y-you mean me…" Junpei stuttered.

"We don't need your permission to be here," Yukari sassed.

 _JESUS CHRIST WOMAN!_ It took every fiber of his being to suppress the urge to cover her mouth and drag his team out of there.

"H-Hey! Are you nuts!? Take a look around you!" Junpei whispered brusquely.

"I'm not blind, ya know. Come on, don't be intimidated by these scum!" She spat out.

 _Holy shit. You just killed us. You literally fucking killed us Yukari._ Minato balled up his fist as he prepared for the inevitable.

"What was that?" The thug snarled.

"She just called us 'scum'. Heh, we'll post some pictures that'll make her daddy cry! She'll wish she was never born!" Said a mean looking broad.

Her friends shared a laugh at Yukari's expense as they gathered around them.

"Ugh, these guys are the worst…" Yukari muttered.

The thug thrust a finger at Yukari. "You oughta learn to shut that trap of yours before we find another use for it. "

He put a hand on Junpei's shoulder sympathetically. "Man, I feel sorry for you, Goatee. This bitch is a pain in the ass...huh!"

He punctuated his sentence by sending a hook towards Junpei's gut. The teen hunched over in pain as the thug cackled.

"Junpei!" Yukari cried out.

Enough was enough. Minato walked up to the thug while he had his back turned to him and wrapped an arm around his neck. He threw his weight down and forced the man to his knees while he reached for his evoker.

"You're fucking dead, kid! C'mon you idiots, kill this punk!" The thug spat out as he thrashed against his grip.

His two friends stepped forward to intervene before screeching to a halt at the sight of Minato's evoker.

"Yo, boss, I ain't down to get shot…" One of them whispered meekly.

"It's probably a BB gun you pussy's!" He yelled as he tried to head-butt the teen.

Minato's grip weakened and the thug managed to finally rip himself free with a hard elbow to Minato's skull. Minato stepped back and placed himself in front of his team. He leveled the evoker at the thug and did his best to look convincing as he looked around for a good escape route.

"Hey, that's enough. They didn't know what they were getting into. I'll make sure they leave. Alright?" Said a familiar voice.

The thug snapped his head towards a large teen wearing a beanie and a red peacoat.

"Who do you think you are, dumbass? You want some too!?" He snarled.

He swung at the stranger, but his blow was easily dodged and met with a head-butt. The thug staggered back as he held his bloody nose.

He gasped and cleared the blood building up in his throat. "Shit...You just crossed the line! You think you're going home alive!?"

The stranger took a step forward and towered over the thug. "Wanna give it a try?"

The thug looked at his friends before looking back at the man. "Uh...Screw this!"

With that, he ran off. The girls cackled at him as he fled and his friend stopped to point a finger at the beanie-clad man.

"Damn you Shinjiro! You're from Gekkou High too, aren't ya!?" He accused before joining his fleeing friend. The group of girls walked away as they debated over how small the thug's dick must be.

Once they were alone, Junpei swung an arm around Minato and gave Shinjiro a thumbs up.

"Aw man, you guys were awesome!" He cheered.

Shinjiro walked over to the teens and eyed them over. "Hey, I remember you...You clowns were there in Aki's room at the hospital. You idiots! Get outta here, this place isn't for you."

He turned on his heel and started to walk away.

"Wait! We came here for a reason!" Yukari called out.

He turned around and raised a suspicious eyebrow at the girl. "Did Aki tell you to come here?"

"This suicide mission was 100% our idea," Minato stated bluntly.

* * *

"So, all the girls who talked shit about bullying Fuuka met the same fate as that girl in front of the gate?" Minato asked.

Shinjiro sighed. "You slow or something? I don't remember stuttering."

"Just making sure I didn't fuck up any of the details…" Minato muttered.

"People say it's Fuuka's spirit that's taking revenge on them. I hear it's all over the forums too," Shinjiro mentioned.

Junpei's eyes widened in realization. "W-Wait, her spirit!? You mean she's dead or somethin'?"

"The hell? You haven't heard? For fucks sake, you go to her school! This Fuuka chick might be dead. She hasn't been home in over week," he informed.

"Are you serious!? I thought she was out sick...But, she's missing?" Junpei asked.

'So much for that ghost story. Isn't Mr. Ekoda the homeroom teacher for 2-E? You think he knows something about this?" She mused to herself.

"The fuck should I know? Now get outta here before those morons come back with their friends," Shinjiro warned.

* * *

Yukari wrung her hands as she looked at her team. Her field leader was sporting a purple bruise on his temple and Junpei had taken a punch because of her. Minato seemed content enough with just enjoying the silence in the rail car as the sun began to set.

She swallowed her pride and apologized, "Hey...Sorry about getting you guys mixed up in this."

Junpei looked up at her and smirked. "Told ya so."

Her former sympathy for the teen nearly vanished at the sight of his shit eating grin.

"Shut up Junpei, I'm trying to be sincere here!" She scolded.

"He did tell you so," Minato teased.

Yukari groaned. "Ugh, not you too."

"Look Takeba, you fucked up. Mitsuru-senpai fucked up on our first mission, Junpei fucked up on the monorail, I fucked up too many times to count, and now your turn finally came up," he reasoned.

"You're just trying to make me feel better," she said.

He grinned. "Is it working?"

Yukari rolled her eyes. "Not if keep addressing me formally ya weirdo. I won't die if you call me by my first name."

"Yeah dude, it's kinda weird that you use our last names. I mean, I _kinda_ get it for our senpai, but us? That shit ain't normal," Junpei added.

Minato shrugged. "Old habit I guess. Tell you what, you two are on the exclusive list of people that get to experience informal conversation with me. Sound good, Yukari?"

She felt a giddy feeling wash over her as he said her name. She'd gotten so used to hearing 'Takeba' that it almost felt foreign to hear her first name. It was odd that that act had managed to break away her feelings of guilt for almost sending them to the hospital, but here she was, smiling like an idiot in front of her team.

She gave the teen a nod. "Sounds good."


	16. Chapter 16

**AN:** Roast me, English majors. I've been looking at polymers and capacitors for the past week and need to get out of my STEM mindset. Anyways, here it is, Ms. Yamagishi. It only took my stupid ass 23,000 words to get here, but I did it. I'll work on being more succinct and generally less of a fucking awful writer for the next chapter.

* * *

 **Rescue Operation**

Minato led his team to the faculty office where they were stopped by Akihiko. The senior was standing guard by the door and staring down any lingering onlookers. The faint sound of Mitsuru chewing out someone thoroughly was audible as the boxer shifted uncomfortably from the attention the ruckus was causing.

"It's probably for the best that you wait outside. Mitsuru is...upset with Mr. Ekoda right now," Akihiko whispered.

Junpei cringed as he recognized a few expletives. "Can she talk to him like that? What if she gets expelled?"

"Ha! She could have the entire faculty fired by this afternoon. I don't think Ekoda's gonna be writing any referrals today," Yukari snickered.

"You forget the influence a couple of billion yen holds until you get to see it in action," Minato mused.

Akihiko looked around to make sure the hallway was empty before leaning in to whisper in Minato's ear, "What your team did yesterday was reckless. I understand wanting to be proactive, but people have been killed in that alley. Don't go back there. Ever."

A chill went up Minato's spine as the senior pulled away and acted nonchalant again.

* * *

"They freakin' locked her in the gym overnight!?"

Mitsuru nodded. "I'm afraid that's not the worst of it, Iori. She's a persona user, that means she was stuck on campus during the Dark Hour…"

Yukari's eyes widened in realization. "Wait, so she's in Tartarus right now!?"

"That's our only lead. The Dark Hour affects time and space. It stands to reason that what might be ten days for us is only ten hours for her," Mitsuru explained.

Minato grimaced. "Or vice-versa."

"Jesus...We have a hard enough time surviving for one hour. How's she gonna survive ten? She might be dead already..." Junpei muttered.

"Are you just gonna let her die, then!?" Akihiko snapped as he took a step towards the teen.

Mitsuru held up a hand. "That's enough, Akihiko."

The boxer took a deep breath and collected his thoughts. "Then what do you propose? I'm going to Tartarus tonight, with or without the team."

"We'll be mounting a rescue operation tonight. We'll need to infiltrate the campus and enter Tartarus via the gym. That's our best chance of recreating the scenario that Yamagishi found herself in," Mitsuru debriefed as she mimicked Minato's rigid posture.

Akihiko gave her an appreciative nod before sitting on top of one of the student council desks.

"Alright, what about the logistics? We can't carry around all our gear in broad day light, and the supply crate would weigh about 150 kilos if we just stuffed everything in there," he asked.

"I'll have the chairman drive us. Worst case scenario, I'll schedule another driver. Don't worry Akihiko, I've got it all planned out," she assured.

"You have a key to the campus?" Minato asked.

Mitsuru blushed as she averted her gaze from her kohai.

"...I've got it _mostly_ planned out. As it stands...I have no means of infiltrating the campus before the Dark Hour," she divulged.

Junpei snapped his fingers to get their attention. "I got it covered senpai, let ol' Junpei-sensei handle it."

She smiled at his enthusiasm. "Very well, Iori. I'll leave it to you. In the meantime, Akihiko and I need to find a replacement for his armor."

* * *

"Good afternoon officer," Junpei sniggered.

Akihiko was donning an outdated Iwatodai Police Department plate carrier and helmet over his black BDU.

The senior gave Junpei a light head-butt before fiddling with his headset again.

"This armor's already pissing me off, I don't need your commentary," he cautioned while trying to get all the straps of his helmet to behave.

The junior rubbed the growing welt on his skull and gingerly adjusted his patrol cap.

"S-Sorry senpai..." Junpei mumbled.

Yukari giggled at his sorry state before patting him on the back.

"You really shouldn't piss off people that can beat you up," she chided.

Junpei grinned. "Says the chick that was talking shit in front of some alley thugs."

She blushed as the memory flooded back to her. "S-Shut up, Stupei!"

The door to the command room creaked open as Mitsuru walked in with Minato in tow. Her greatcoat flowed regally as her boots filled the quiet room with a clack-tap sound. She stood at ease before tossing Minato the armory keys and turning to face her subordinates.

"I've got good news and bad news. The bad news is that I can't get in contact with the chairman. The good news is that my backup plan worked and we'll have a ride available," she debriefed.

"I've contacted Kurosawa. He'll be able to get us on campus, but we're on our own from there. It is imperative for the sake of your currently non-existing criminal records that you are not spotted. Understood?" She asked.

Junpei nodded. "We'll keep quiet, senpai."

Mitsuru was a bit taken aback by the teen's professionalism. She offered him a small smile and turned her attention towards their field leader.

"Minato, retrieve my rapier as well. I have a feeling that this will be an 'all hands on deck' type of operation," she ordered.

Minato handed out their weapons and tightened down all their gear until it was devoid of any clinging sounds brought on by movement.

"Alright, jump around," Minato ordered.

Yukari raised an eyebrow as she gave some half-assed jumps.

He pat her on the back. "Yep, no extraneous noise. You're good to go."

Minato dug around his plate carrier and pulled out a few disposable masks. "Anyone want a respirator?"

Akihiko wasted no time in jogging over and grabbing one for himself. Junpei thought back to his vomiting friend and raised his hand.

"Toss me one!" Junpei yelled.

Minato chucked one his direction. The teen caught the respirator and hung it around his neck. It may not have been perfect, but it beat choking on his own vomit.

Mitsuru set down her cellphone and approached the junior.

"Kurosawa should be stopping by soon...All we need is Moriyama-san to stay put for tonight and we'll be golden. Iori, did you prepare a means of entry for us?" Mitsuru asked.

Junpei grinned. "Don't even worry about it boss, I've got it set to go."

"Set to go…? An explosive?" Mitsuru eyed the teen suspiciously.

She chuckled and gave Junpei her blessing. "Alright, I'll let you handle this."

Akihiko shouldered his rucksack and motioned to the door. "We don't have time to waste, let's head downstairs."

The seniors left the room as the juniors gathered their supplies.

"A breaching charge? Nah, too expensive...Maybe a powder bomb...?" Minato mumbled to himself.

"An explosive...For real?" Yukari asked in disbelief.

Junpei shook his head and laughed. "Nah, I just unlocked a door."

* * *

"See? We got in no problem. That's what happens when you hire Junpei Iori, special infiltration agent!" He whispered triumphantly.

Yukari sighed. "I swear you're short a few chromosomes."

Mitsuru ignored the brunette's quip and gave Junpei a nod of approval. "So you unlocked it earlier? Tres bien!"

"Oui. No time for compliments, let's go," Akihiko said as he ushered them on.

Junpei scratched his head. "Tray Ben…? What is that, French? Lousy seniors and their lousy French. I'm gonna learn German just to spite them..."

Minato patted the teen's shoulder as he nudged him towards their senpai. "You can take down their maginot line on your own time, let's get moving."

* * *

Yukari held Minato's sleeve gingerly as they entered the dark classroom. "Uh...Can we turn on the lights?"

"Aww, you scared?" Junpei teased.

"No!" She whispered brusquely.

She flipped off the giggling teen. "...Stupei."

"Stop callin me that!" He hissed back.

Akihiko placed a hand on both their shoulders and stared them down. "Quiet."

Once they simmered down he pointed to the light switch. "It's better if we leave 'em off. Mitsuru did what she could, but there's still a security guard patrolling the campus."

Minato ignored their bickering and turned to the aristocrat. "Where do we go from here, senpai?"

"First, we need to find the key to the gym. Akihiko and I will check the janitor's room. You three will check the faculty office. After that, we'll meet in the main hallway. Got it?" Mitsuru asked.

"Understood," Minato affirmed.

Junpei beamed at the news.

"The Faculty Office, huh...? Hey, maybe we'll find some test questions! Heheh…" Junpei giggled.

Akihiko shared a grin with the junior. "Maybe I should go down to the Faculty Office, too...it sounds interesting."

Mitsuru rested her hand on her rapier. "Are you planning something unscrupulous under my supervision? If so, then expect to be severely punished..."

Junpei held up his hands. "It-It was a joke! I'd never do something like that! Ha, haha…"

Akihiko sighed. "All I meant by 'interesting' was that there was a higher chance of finding the key there…"

"Enough with the excuses. Let's go to the janitor's room...Iori, you're coming with us," she ordered.

Mitsuru took her team and left Yukari and Minato to their own devices.

Yukari steeled herself and led the way to the classroom door. "Alright, let's get this over with."

* * *

The second they stepped foot on the 1st floor a faint clack-tap sound began to echo from a distant hallway.

"Y-You hear that?" Yukari whispered.

Minato nodded. "It's getting closer…"

"W-Whatever, let's hide!" She suggested.

Minato grabbed her arm and pulled her towards a nearby pillar. The footsteps grew closer and closer until they completely stopped.

Minato pressed himself against the cement pillar and hugged Yukari against his chest to reduce their profile. The sweet smell of her shampoo calmed his nerves as the silence bore down on them. They could feel each other's racing hearts through their armor as they waited for anything to happen. Yukari tucked her head deeper against Minato's chest as a beam of light scanned the room. After a few seconds, the light flickered off and the sound of footsteps resumed. They stayed pressed against one another in fear of the footsteps suddenly doubling back and spotting them.

The footsteps eventually faded away altogether and Minato finally released his grip.

Yukari wrung her hands as she peeked at the adjacent hallways. "Was that the security guard...?"

Minato wanted to facepalm right then and there. _No shit. Wait a minute..._

"Do you believe in ghosts?" Minato asked.

"W-What? Of course not. We already proved that it wasn't a ghost. And besides, I'm not that afraid of-"

 ***BEEP***

Yukari jumped in place and clutched her heart.

"M-My cell phone!? Why now!? Figures...It's spam." She put the phone on silent and slipped it back in her pocket.

"Ugh, sorry about that. It took me by surprise," she apologized.

Minato tried his damnedest to suppress his smile before finally caving in.

He giggled. "You were so cute."

"H-Huh? ...It's not funny," she huffed.

He smirked. "You're right. It was cute as hell."

Yukari sighed. "Now's not the time to poke fun at me. Let's get to the Faculty Office."

* * *

"No...No...It's so dark, I can barely read these," Yukari said as she looked through the key ring.

She held one up to the moonlight and waved Minato over.

"What does it say on this one?" She asked.

"Holding Cell...Six," he deadpanned as he dragged his finger across the engraving.

"What!?" She flipped the key over and rolled her eyes.

"Real funny, Minato...Hey, it says Gym!" She exclaimed.

Minato grabbed the keyring and put it back in it's place.

"Mitsuru said she'd meet up with us at the lobby. Let's get going," he said.

* * *

"Did you find the key?"

Yukari waved it triumphantly before handing it to Mitsuru. "Sure did."

"Ya know, I heard a scream that sounded familiar…" Junpei mused.

"Wha-!?" Yukari stuttered.

Junpei chuckled. "What, you actually did? I was just kidding…"

Yukari balled her fist. "You wanna make somethin' of it!?"

"Keep it down," Akihiko hissed.

Mitsuru spoke up before the two could go at each other's throats again. "We'll divide into teams again. Three of you will enter Tartarus, and one of you will remain outside with me. Once the Dark Hour has begun, I'll determine Yamagishi's position."

Akihiko stepped forward. "I'll go."

He pointed to Minato. "You should come, too. You can lead the combat team, like always."

Yukari looked around and shrugged. "Um, then, I'll be the third-"

"Wait a second! Remember how I accidentally screwed up on the monorail? Gimmie a chance to make up for that!" Junpei interrupted.

"Oh, come on! It's not always about YOU!" Yukari argued.

"Besides, you didn't accidentally screw up. You ran off despite everyone telling you to stay put," she reminded him.

Minato was about to interject when Akihiko decided to make the final call.

"Alright, Junpei, we'll give you another shot," Akihiko said.

"Sweet! Thanks!" Junpei cheered.

"Seriously!?" She cried out.

Minato shrugged and walked over to his newly assembled team.

"What's wrong, Yukari? You don't wanna stay behind with Mitsuru?" Akihiko asked with a devilish smile.

She shook her head. "Um, n-no, it's fine."

Mitsuru ignored them and slipped on her headset. "It's almost time. Load your weapons and get to the gym."

* * *

"Anything yet?" Yukari asked as she paced around anxiously.

"Nothing...This is worrisome. If Yamagishi is out of my scanning range, then our fire team might be significantly higher up than any previous floor," Mitsuru mused.

"And the higher up they are, the tougher the shadows…" Yukari noted.

"We locked our command room, right? If that girl, Natsuki, starts snooping around…" She trailed.

Mitsuru nodded. "I double checked, every door besides the women's restroom and the kitchen is locked."

Heavy static filled their headsets until Akihiko's faint voice finally broke through. "...Mitsuru, can you hear me?"

"This is Mitsuru. I've confirmed your position. You're higher up than I expected...You're barely in communication range. Is everyone alright?" She asked.

"...don't know...we got separ…" He replied.

She fiddled with her reconnaissance instruments. "Akihiko! Come in, Akihiko!"

Yukari glanced at the teleporter and notched an arrow. "...Is he out of range? I'm starting to get worried…"

* * *

Minato bolted up from his slumber and leveled his shotgun at the figure in front of him. He blinked a few times before seeing a familiar specter.

"This is our first time meeting outside of your room. I was hoping it'd be more...amicable than this," he greeted.

Minato lowered his gun and stood up. "Where's my team?"

The kid propped himself up against the ornate purple walls of Tartarus and gave him a smile.

"Don't worry, you'll see them soon. But, we don't have much time to talk. Tonight, there is more than one ordeal you must face...You should hurry...she's waiting for you. You guys will need her," he informed.

"Yamagishi? Alright, we'll get it done," Minato affirmed.

The ghost gave him a short bow. "Okay, then...I hope we can speak again."

With that, he vanished.

Thick static filled his headset almost immediately after the boy's disappearance.

"Are...you...alri-? ...distance...too far...can't provi-...back up."

A few faint phrases were heard before his communications went down altogether.

* * *

Berith incinerated the black blob guarding the staircase and cleared the path for his master.

Minato inserted a new shell into his shotgun and ascended the staircase. His radio gave him nothing but heavy static as he reached the new floor. He was about to just turn the damn thing off when a female voice filled his head.

"Who are you? Are you human…?" It asked timidly.

Minato glanced around the intersection and braced himself.

"Yamagishi?" He whispered.

A few seconds of silence passed until he heard her again. "...You know me?"

"Sort of. We came here to rescue you. There's two more guys looking for you, but we got separated," He explained.

"Ah, thank you! I can sense two more people upstairs. Please hurry!" She urged.

 _Sense? So she's like Mitsuru...Or this is a trap from the 'other ordeal'. Nah, shadows can't speak fluent Japanese. That'd be stupid. But then again Dia is complete bullshit and I just finished a conversation with a ghost...Man, fuck all this._

Minato shook his head and refocused on the task at hand. "I'm on my way, try to stay put."

* * *

"Hey, that's him!"

Akihiko snapped his head towards the staircase and spotted their field leader. Outside of a few scuff marks on his armor, he looked fine.

"You guys alright?" He asked as he eyed them over.

"Hm? We're fine, but maaan you had us worried," Junpei said.

"I don't think we should enter Tartarus this way again…" Akihiko muttered.

A thought suddenly sprung up in Junpei's mind. "Oh yeah! Did ya hear a voice while you were in here? It was kinda like-"

"Who is this? Are you the rescue team?"

"Th-That's it! That's the voice!" Junpei yelled.

The teens glanced around the atrium.

"I'm not crazy, right?" Junpei asked.

Akihiko shook his head. "I heard it too…"

Minato bit his lip before calling out, "It's the rescue team. Where are you?"

"She can hear us?" Junpei asked incredulously.

"Y-Yes…"

They turned to see a pale-faced girl peeking from the corner of an adjacent hallway.

Akihiko took a step forward towards the girl.

"Are you Fuuka Yamagishi?" He asked.

She nodded. "Y-Yes!"

Junpei sighed in relief. "Wow, you're alive! That's awesome!"

He puffed his chest out and patted his sheath. "Never fear, Junpei's here!"

She walked over to the team and offered them a deep bow.

Akihiko opened up his rucksack and handed her a thin kevlar vest.

"I'm glad you're okay. Let's make sure you stay that way," he said.

She slipped the vest on and gave them another bow. "Thank you so much...I…"

Junpei waved his hand in dismissal. "Don't worry about it. We weren't about to let you die in here."

"I'm gonna try and contact Mitsuru. You two keep watch," Akihiko instructed.

Minato spotted the girl looking at his canteen.

"I take it you didn't find any fresh water up here? Here, I won't be needing it," he said as he passed Fuuka the canteen.

She grabbed it and drank it's contents greedily.

"Thank you! I don't know how long it's been since I last had water. Um...where are we? I was at school and then…" she trailed.

"Well… it's a long story. I'll explain after we get outta here," Junpei promised.

Akihiko grunted in frustration as he fiddled with his radio.

"I'm just getting static. I think we're on our own for now," Akihiko informed.

Junpei eyed the girl over. "Sorry, I forgot to ask. Are ya hurt? Have you run into any monsters?"

Fuuka's eyes widened. "So, there ARE strange creatures in here, then…I've managed to avoid them so far…"

"Are you serious!? How's that possible!?" Akihiko asked in amazement.

She shrugged. "Um, it's kinda hard to describe, but...I can sorta tell where they are."

Junpei scratched his head. "Whaddya mean? Are you psychic?"

"She has the same power as Mitsuru...Maybe even stronger since Mitsuru's persona is more battle oriented…" Akihiko concluded.

Fuuka tilted her head. "Persona?"

Akihiko reached into his rucksack and handed her his spare evoker.

"Hang on to this," Akihiko ordered.

Fuuka's hands shook as she held the evoker. "B-But this is…!" She gasped.

Minato pointed to his shotgun and raised an eyebrow. "Why didn't this throw you off?"

"Y-You guys are all in uniforms…But, I've never even held…I mean if you **need** me to..." she babbled.

"Look, it's not what you think it is." Minato pulled out his evoker and squeezed the trigger a few times to no effect.

"Then why do I need it?" She asked.

Akihiko put a hand on her shoulder. "You'll know when you need it. Trust me."

"Um...okay then…" She said.

Akihiko motioned towards the hallway. "Alright, let's get outta here then."

* * *

"Woah, check out the moon! I've never seen it so bright," Junpei commented.

"Some research indicates that the shadows are affected by the phases of the moon. Of course, the same can be said for humans," Akihiko informed.

"That would explain Yuka-tan's mood swings." Junpei quipped.

"Hey, wasn't it a full moon the night we went to the monorail?" He added.

"Was it?" Akihiko looked to the two teens for confirmation.

Junpei nodded. "I think so... Why?"

The senior turned to Minato. "Hey, did you see the moon on the night the dorm was attacked, back in April?"

"It was full," Minato noted.

"Today is the 8th...The monorail incident happened last month around the same time...And the assault on the dorm was a month before that! They were all during a full moon!" Akihiko deduced.

He lowered his mic and hoped for the best. "Mitsuru, are you there?"

"Akihiko…? ...Shadows-" The distorted audio quickly died out.

"Hey, can you hear me? Mitsuru, come in!" He yelled.

"...Be caref…"

He fiddled with the radio before trying again. "Mitsuru!? Mitsuru!"

Fuuka rubbed her forehead. "What is this thing…?"

"It's much bigger than the others...and it's attacking someone…" She mentioned.

Akihiko gritted his teeth in realization. "Dammit!"

Junpei looked at the two for answers. "Wh-What's going on!?

"It's one of THEM! If my guess is right, they come every full moon! C'mon, we have to hurry!" Akihiko urged.

He pulled out his evoker and sprinted towards the distant teleporter.

Minato looked at Fuuka as the senior gained distance.

"Hang back a bit, we'll take care of any hostiles," he instructed.

With that, he grabbed Junpei and dragged him along as fast as his legs would allow him.

* * *

Mitsuru clutched her bleeding abdomen as she shielded Yukari with her body. The Emperor's gigantic blade had easily snapped her rapier like a twig and cut deep into her vest. The kevlar saved her life, but it wasn't graded for this type of punishment.

Yukari pressed her evoker against her head and had Io push the shadows back with a garu spell before healing her comrade. The shadows stumbled a bit before regaining their footing and approaching the girls like nothing ever happened.

"What's going on with these two!? Nothing's working!" She muttered.

"Irrelevant, we need to buy time for them!" Mitsuru ordered as she struggled to get off the ground.

A flash of green light filled the room as the fire team returned.

"Mitsuru!" Akihiko rushed over to their leader and carried her away from the combat.

Minato leveled his shotgun at the shadows as Junpei helped Yukari up. The towering shadows watched in amusement as the teens scurried around to try and position themselves. They shared a chuckle as Minato struggled to pick a target to aim at.

Fuuka stared wide-eyed at the commotion. "What in the world…?"

Junpei let Yukari go once she looked stable enough to walk.

"Akihiko-senpai! We gotta distract those shadows somehow!" He called out.

Akihiko set the aristocrat down on the stairs of Tartarus and walked over to the fire team. "I know just how to do it…"

"Hey! If it's a fight you want, we'll give it to you!" He shouted.

"Be careful...Normal attacks won't work on these Shadows," Mitsuru warned through weak gasps.

The door to Tartarus creaked open and Natsuki stepped inside the lobby.

"F-Fuuka…" She called out.

Minato looked at the girl as she waddled over towards Fuuka.

"The fuck is she doing here!?" He asked.

Mitsuru offered him a shrug. "I made sure the door was locked."

"M-Moriyama-san? Please, get out of here! It's dangerous!" Fuuka warned.

"I...I wanted to tell you...I'm sorry…" Natsuki said.

The shadows got tired of waiting around and made a move. The Empress raised her staff and swung it down at Natsuki. Fuuka grabbed the girl and pressed the evoker against her head. A loud thud rang out as the staff collided against a shield surrounding the two girls. The Empress rebounded back and braced herself against a pillar.

"Woah, is that her persona?" Junpei asked as he pointed to the woman connected to the shield.

"I can...I can see it's weakness!" Fuuka yelled through the shield.

Minato nodded and raised his shotgun. "Mitsuru-senpai, let Fuuka handle your role. We'll take care of these two."

* * *

"What's the fat one weak to!?" Junpei yelled as he dodged the Emperor's blade.

"She's weak against physical attacks!" Fuuka revealed.

Minato raised his shotgun and sent a slug towards the Empress's head. Her mask cracked in half and the momentum of the round sent her stumbling back. Polydeuces reeled it's arm back and swung down on the Shadow. The obese queen toppled to the ground as she moaned in pain. Hermes swept down and dragged his sharp wings across her abdomen before retreating back to a safe distance.

Akihiko closed the distance and grabbed the Empress's scrawny neck as he punched it into submission. Ichor sprayed his face as his brass knuckles cracked the mask completely and dug into the soft flesh underneath.

Sensing that it's companion was in grave danger, the Emperor thrust his blade down to skewer the boxer.

"Akihiko, watch out!" Mitsuru yelled.

Akihiko lept out of the way a little too late and had his foot cleanly removed at the ankle. He groaned in pain as he grabbed his boot-clad foot and scooted away from the fighting. The Empress wasn't about to go down without taking someone with her. She moved to crush the injured teen but was pinned in place by Tam Lin's spear. The fairy twisted the shaft and thrust it deeper into the Empress until she stopped moving. The Emperor charged Akihiko only to be blocked by Hermes. The winged messenger parried his blade and pushed him back with an agi spell. Akihiko muttered out a weak "thanks" and crawled away from the action.

* * *

Adrenaline flowed through Akihiko as he struggled to line up his foot properly while keeping his evoker leveled. The steady stream of blood only made things worse as the raw nerves on his stump kept flaring up from the friction of his sliding limb. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Mitsuru. She took his evoker and pressed it against her temple as she motioned to his wound.

He gritted his teeth and held the limb in place with both hands as Penthesilea mended the wound. Severed arteries rejoined into healthy vessels, osteocytes divided feverishly, and his tibia became whole again.

"W-Wait! What happened to the team?" Akihiko asked as he tried to put weight on his recently attached limb.

Mitsuru eased him back down. "They're doing fine."

She handed him his evoker and sat next to him. "Yamagishi informed us that the remaining shadow is vulnerable to elemental attacks…"

Akihiko grinned and fired his evoker. "Nothing wrong with going long range once in awhile, is there?"

She dug into her coat and pulled out her own evoker.

"Nothing at all," she hummed.

* * *

Yukari braced herself against a nearby pillar and fired a garu spell at the Emperor. The sharp gale pushed it back and littered it's chestpiece with scratches. A block of ice struck it from a distance followed by a bolt of lightning. The Shadow collapsed to the floor and swung its blade wildly to ward off the teens. Yukari waved at her senpai before turning her attention back toward the towering Shadow.

Berith and Hermes rained down agi spells on the Emperor. His pristine black armor was now warped heavily from the sudden temperature change and his mask was slowly crumbling. The Emperor forced himself up and charged the teens as it's life rapidly drained away. He slashed Junpei's vest and sent the teen flying. Another block of ice connected against the Emperor and twisted his head to an unnatural angle. He ignored the damage and swung his blade down towards their field leader.

Berith shielded his master from the worst of it as the sword cleaved him and his steed apart. The tip of the blade raked uselessly across the hard ceramic plates on his chest before gliding down and slicing bone deep into his thigh. Minato clutched his leg in agony and bit back tears as he fell to the ground.

"Minato!" Yukari cried out.

Io pushed the Emperor back before bombarding him with garu spells. The shadow dropped to one knee as the constant current of sharp wind corroded away at his armor. A final bolt of lightning struck him and punched a hole clean through his breastplate.

* * *

Minato held his thigh shut as warm crimson liquid pooled around him. He reached for his evoker only to grab empty air. His holster had been sliced off and it lay several meters away. A sense of dread filled him as the blood flowed freely from the wound. The shock was rapidly wearing away and giving way to intense radiating pain all along his leg.

 _Not. One. Fucking. Day. Not one day goes by where I don't get hurt!_ He hissed in pain as his torn muscles contracted. He couldn't quite recall why it was so _imperative_ that he attend the wound immediately, but the flaring sense of self preservation kick-started the arduous process of crawling towards his evoker.

* * *

"This movie is bullshit," Yuka whined.

"It's not a documentary," Minato pointed out.

"Yeah, but you can't just 'shoot 'em in the shoulder'. They'd fucking bleed out in minutes," she complained.

Minato rolled his eyes. This was the third action flick they'd seen that night and she was still brutally tearing apart the plot.

"You a doctor now?" He sassed.

She crossed her arms and shook her head. "Pfft, nurses are just a less specialized doctor. I know my blood vessels."

"Shiiit, I'm a cannon cocker and I still have a few memorized. Is that all I need for my certificate?" He said with a shit eating grin.

"Hmm, let's see if you have what it takes. Where's your femoral artery?" She asked.

Minato pointed to his inner thigh and looked at her expectantly. She burst into laughter and patted his back condescendingly.

"That's your great saphenous vein! Cute try though," she said.

"Same shit," he huffed.

"Nah, you can lose big chunks of the saphenous and still be alright. If you rupture the femoral artery though...you're pretty fucked. After one minute you're passing out. After 5? You're dead," she informed.

He looked at her in disbelief. "They teach you all that grim shit in _cadet_ training?"

"We're all sick fucks. It's what keeps us going in the field," she stated proudly.

* * *

 _Ah, the femoral artery. That's why I'm panicking._ He knew he only had a few minutes to mend his wound, but the sharp pain with each motion made him want to vomit. The femoral artery was a relatively large blood vessel. In his current position, the blood loss was being exacerbated by gravity. It dawned on him that he might actually die right now. Getting his hand amputated was a wake up call, but the large red streaks he was leaving behind were a horrifying omen. _You didn't survive all this time to bleed out in a fucking magical demon tower. You need to pick up the pace! Savor your life dammit! You're not gonna die here!_ With renewed motivation, he slid his arm forward towards the holster.

* * *

Yukari noticed her bleeding leader crawling towards his evoker with unwavering determination on his face. _The hell's up with him? The Shadow's dead._ She cast dia on Minato twice for good measure and jogged over to the bloody teen.

She knelt into the crimson liquid and felt the teen's temperature with her hand. "You alright?"

He rubbed his sore thigh before nodding. "Yeah...Yeah, I'm alright now."

The teen looked a little disappointed as he stared at his closed wound.

"Something wrong?" She asked.

"I, uh...I was kinda hyping myself up in a 'do or die' sorta way…" he mumbled.

She bit her lip as a chuckle tried to force its way out. "Ah. Sorry to ruin your moment."

"Do I sound retarded right now? I kinda feel...stupid," he said.

She motioned towards the large red pool surrounding him. "What's that, a liter and a half? You should be getting a transfusion right now..."

"I'd like one too."

They looked up to see the Akihiko leaning on Junpei for support. The junior's thick vest sported a light scratch across the abdomen as his only memento of the battle.

"I'm usually the first to turn down a hospital trip, but I'm seeing two of you right now," Akihiko mumbled tiredly.

"What do we do with the girls?" Junpei asked.

Fuuka and Natsuki were having a deep heart to heart off in the corner. Minato couldn't be assed to eavesdrop. Whatever they were doing was their business.

"Take 'em back with us. Recruit Fuuka if she's up for it, silence Natsuki if she remembers any of this. That's what Mitsuru would say," Minato suggested.

"Is it?"

Minato cringed as he heard his leader's voice. "I, uh... I mean... Kinda?"

Mitsuru shook her head and sighed. "Gather all your gear. I'll get us a ride to a hospital. Well, _my_ hospital."

* * *

Yukari watched over the delirious teen as the IV line slowly restored some color to his face. Mitsuru was dotting over their boxer in the adjacent room. She knew they were close to some extent from their SEES membership, but she'd never shown Akihiko this level of affection before. Not that she knew of anyways.

She turned her gaze back to her field leader. After what they'd been through today, she wasn't sure what to think of him. To call him a friend seemed both presumptive and like a bit of an understatement. Her time with him had left her with many contradicting feelings. They rarely spent time together outside of combat and archery club. Sure, he'd opened up more this past week, but she couldn't shake off the feeling of a professional relationship with him. Still, she felt a deep connection with him after all these near death experiences. _You can only stitch so many wounds before you start to care..._

She wasn't in the business of dating. The mere thought of ending up jumping from man to man like her mother sickened her. But, as she looked at the teen she couldn't help but feel _something_ strong. What it was, she feared to find out.

"Can I get anything for you?" She offered.

He lazily turned his head to face her and smiled. Her heart skipped a beat as his eyes softened and he relaxed his posture. _Could it be? Could I find hap-_

"I'd blow you for a glass of orange juice right now," he deadpanned.

 _So much for that._ She sighed. "You always this vulgar after blood loss?"

"Mmm, only in front of important people," he mumbled.

"Pretty girls are important..." he added before shutting his eyes.


	17. Chapter 17

**AN:** Holy shit this is overdue. Thank you to the wave of Frenchmen that decided my crap was worth reading. I'll try and pump the next chapter out **much** sooner.

Last edited: 07/26/16. Got rid of a really cringy typo. Holy fuck, I really need to stop writing at 4am. Next chapter should be out real fucking soon. I got 7k down already. Just need to proofread it.

* * *

 **Logistics and Loyalties**

Minato had been eyeing Fuuka the minute she brought her luggage in. He hadn't missed the Weller soldering station carrying case she had packed, and was eager to see what other tools she had brought along. The usual deadpan awkwardness that took over when meeting someone new was absent as he interacted with their newest member. Whether it was due to their brief time in Tartarus, her shy demeanor, or her obvious interest in electronics was still unclear to him. Now the two of them were chatting away in the reception booth as they went through hell to try and revive the dust covered PC.

"No, I already tried using a linux distro. It gave me a new error code with every attempt," Minato said as he patted the computer case.

"Maybe the capacitors are burnt out? Instabilities during OS installations can be brought on by insufficient or inconsistent power to the system," Fuuka suggested.

Minato opened up the chassis and sure enough, a row of four capacitors was bulged and coated with fungus-like corrosion.

"Ah… I'd say we could solder them off and replace them, but this board is probably legacy hardware. What's it running again? A celeron?" Fuuka asked.

"Yep, it has a celeron running at 2.4Ghz. Can't we just order new capacitors? I'm up for some soldering. Its been too long since I burned myself," he deadpanned.

She giggled. "Intel users always find a way to burn something."

Minato cupped his ear. "I'm sorry, I'm having trouble hearing you over my clockspeed."

"More like your CPU cooler," she quipped.

"Wait until Clarkdale. Then we'll see if your AMD chips can hold out," he muttered.

* * *

Yukari sighed. She had been planning to invite the teen out to lunch over the weekend, but she couldn't compete with Fuuka over his spare time. It seemed that the only thing that allured the teen more than brown hair was technical expertise. To make matters worse, Kazushi had been spending far more time with him during archery practice. At least he still called the girl "Yamagishi-san", so she had that going for her.

She couldn't figure out why she was so drawn to the teen. She normally just kept things cordial when it came to boys. It wasn't like her to try and pursue anything above platonic friendship, but here she was trying to make plans. Then again, it wasn't like her to be placed in life or death scenarios twice a week. Their extensive trips into Tartarus were probably to blame for her closeness with her team.

That got her thinking, if her time Tartarus was to blame, then why hadn't she felt the same way about the others? She furrowed her brow in concentration as she stared at the ceiling.

 _Junpei is...ugh. Junpei is Junpei, and it's staying that way. Akihiko is handsome, but he's waaay too asocial. Minato...he's somewhere in the middle. Kinda easy going, kinda strict._

A knock on the door distracted her from her thoughts. She got up from her bed and opened the door. To her surprise, her field leader was waiting patiently behind the door.

This was the first time he'd ever dropped by. Hell, outside of Mitsuru she'd never really had anyone inside her room.

"Minato? You need something?" She asked.

He shook his head. "Akihiko wants to go to Tartarus, you down?"

 _You were hospitalized four days ago._

"You shouldn't be going so often. We got pretty beat up last time," she pointed out.

"It wasn't _that_ bad…" He muttered.

"Akihiko got his foot cut off," she reminded.

"Ah. Well, there was that... Look, we just need to assess Fuuka's abilities. We'll go in, lose a few pints of blood, and go out for ramen. Sound good?" He proposed.

She raised an eyebrow. "That your best sales pitch?"

"I'll have you know that it has worked for me in the past," he said.

Yukari rolled her eyes. "With who? Junpei?"

He shook his head. "Nah, he didn't need persuasion. Mitsuru, on the other hand…"

"You have to be kidding me. It worked on **her**?" She asked.

 _It has to be bullshit. Of all people she'd be the least likel-_

He nodded. "She's gearing up right now. You coming?"

 _Oh._ She weighed the pros and cons of getting her leg inverted again or sitting idly in her room doing homework. She had been neglecting her essay on globalism for the past couple of days, but she could always write it in a panic the night before it's due. That strategy had yet to fail her so far. Fuck it, she was bored and could use some stress relief.

"I mean, if everyone else is going…" She trailed.

"We'll meet in the command room at 11. See you there," he said before turning on his heel and leaving.

* * *

"Go to Tartarus they said! It'll be fun they said!" Junpei yelled out as he held his broken arm.

"I'm afraid your armor isn't physics proof, Iori. I'd advise that you avoid undue risk in the future if you want to stay on the combat team. Now quit fidgeting so I can heal you," Mitsuru scolded.

He shook his head in denial. "Wh-What? I had them! You saw it, Fuuka!"

Yukari shared a knowing glance with Minato as the teen tried to defend himself. He grinned and nodded.

The voice of their newest member filled their heads as she replied, "I believe you said, 'I'll kick that bird's ass', and then proceeded to get dropped from the ceiling by the shadow."

"That sounds about right," Mitsuru concurred.

She fired her evoker and let Penthesilea mend the junior's wound. Junpei flexed his arm a few times and muttered a weak "thanks".

Mitsuru wiped a bead of sweat from her brow with a gloved hand before neatly folding her hands behind her back and addressing her team.

"I think that's enough for today. Arisato, have your team look around for anything of value. I'll take Sanada and search for an exit," she instructed.

She took the boxer by the arm and left through one of the nearby hallways.

* * *

Minato stretched his tired arms and forced down a bite of his protein bar before sparing a glance at his team. The surprisingly jovial turn they began to take towards combat recently impressed him to no end. It worried him that they weren't taking it as seriously as they should, but morale was high and he couldn't complain.

Junpei polished off his canteen before brandishing his blade and glancing around the dimly lit halls.

"Yo, Fuuka, you see anything?" He asked.

"There's a small crate nearby...I can't pin down it's exact location though," she informed.

Minato dropped down his mic as a force of habit before speaking to their new recruit. "Any shadows in the AO, C1?"

"...Pardon me?" Fuuka asked.

 _Ah. I miss Mitsuru already._

"Sorry about that. I meant to ask if there were any enemies nearby," Minato clarified.

"Oh! Um...I'm not seeing anything nearby. There's something big...but it's a ways away. Further than the barricade you guys reached," she informed.

Junpei elbowed Minato.

"See? Simple, concise language. No layers of acronyms to confuse us," he pointed out.

"There's a reason why the Japanese war machine decided on it's terminology. Forgive me for wanting to follow military doctrine in a _combat_ environment," Minato deadpanned.

Junpei shrugged. "Whatever dude. I'm not reading that brick you gave me."

Minato sighed and motioned towards the hallway opposite to the one that the seniors took.

"Let's get searching."

* * *

"Of all the fucking things…" Minato muttered.

"W-We're taking it. No way something this valuable gets left behind," Junpei whispered.

Yukari shook her head. "Leave it or burn it."

Junpei grabbed the armored bikini and held it defensively.

"Nah, this is a sign Yuka-tan. Tartarus **wanted** us to have this," he argued.

She rolled her eyes. "Alright, we can keep it. You'll just have to wear it."

He held the garment in front of her. "Aww, c'mon! It's your size and everything!"

"You'll have to get Mitsuru's approval," Minato interjected.

Junpei gulped, "Actually… I think Yuka-tan made some convincing arguments. Let's just leave it where we found it."

* * *

"I've got something new in. It's perfect for your age, too," Kurosawa said.

"Something with a little less recoil?" Minato asked.

Kurosawa looked dumbstruck. "Wh-What!? A little less recoil!? Kid, you're firing 20 gauge slugs, not .45-70 with a brass buttplate. Didn't you fire an arisaka?"

"Yeah, it kicked like a mule. Not that this one is much easier on the shoulder," Minato noted.

Kurosawa sighed.

"Whatever, this should still be fine for a lightweight like you," he said.

The officer reached under the counter and retrieved a well worn bolt-action rifle.

"This is a Mauser Karabiner 98k. This particular gem was found in the home of a deceased veteran. Guy was an officer in charge of training the local wehrmacht volunteer division from what we could gather. Ammo shouldn't be that hard to find. There's a lot of private collectors that import the stuff. I'm certain that the Kirijo Group can persuade them to give us a few boxes."

He leaned closer. "Look, I usually don't give two shits about your guns as long as you clean them, but this is a piece of history. A lot of kids younger than you died using this gun to defend Berlin from the soviets. Do them a favor and take care of it."

Minato nodded and lifted the 4 kilo rifle. He traced his finger along the stamped serial number and gingerly pulled back the bolt. A tremendously satisfying _click_ was heard once the bolt was actuated fully. The furniture was in good condition and felt lovely in his hands. He had to have it.

"How much?" He asked.

"55,000 yen. I'm not gonna be able to hang on to this one for long. Our quartermaster is probably gonna try and auction it off to foreigners the second he sees it," Kurosawa informed.

"Shit...Alright, bill Mitsuru-senpai for it. Hell, add the other weapons to the bill. I'll just have to face her wrath later," he muttered.

The officer arched an eyebrow. "She have a mean streak?"

Minato shook his head. "Nah, the woman just _really_ loves her accounting."

* * *

"Shame about Kaz… Still, I'm glad he's getting the surgery," Yukari said as she took her shot.

"I knew a guy like him before," Minato mentioned.

He drew his bow back and released his arrow.

"He was a machine gunner. Problem was, he weighed just shy of 60 kilos. The poor sap was carrying 30 kilos of gear and an eight kilo gun. He never complained about it, but eventually he fell out of a hike and the doc found that he had been hiding a stress fracture in his ankle. He had to spend the next few weeks in physical therapy and was later deemed unfit for duty."

He stepped back to refill his quiver. "Moriyama-san did the smart thing."

Yukari fired another arrow and recorded her score.

"Is that the story you told him to convince him?" She prodded.

Minato looked taken aback. "H-Huh? Did he tell you?"

"Nah, it just seemed like something you'd do," she said.

"You're getting to know me a little too well. Soon enough I'll have to make up new bullshit for you to unravel," he said.

"Like what? That 'prim and proper' crap from last month?" Yukari quipped.

Minato grinned as he lined up another shot. "I'm glad you brought it up. I'll have you know that that was not a clever ruse. I'm actually that autistic around new people."

"Wow… I can't see you being very popular at your old academy if that's true," she quipped.

"Quite the contrary. Being the only guy that knows how to use the school's internet without restrictions kept me...well, not popular, but dammit people knew my name. My Battery was practically an online speakeasy of games and pornography," Minato informed.

"A classic combo," she joked.

"A very profitable combo," Minato added.

* * *

Minato sat rigidly in his seat as Mitsuru poured him a cup of tea. He knew that his leader would eventually inquire about his recent 300,000 yen purchase, but he had been hoping to get more time to craft excuses. One on one meetings in her dorm rarely fared in his favor. There was no reason to expect a different outcome from this one.

"Sorry for calling you up on such short notice. I've been preoccupied managing student council affairs and SEES logistics so I didn't have the opportunity to message you," Mitsuru apologized.

 _Hold up, I'm in the clear?_ He eased his posture as it became apparent to him that he wasn't about to be reprimanded for his liberal use of funds.

"I didn't have any plans for tonight outside of desoldering some components. It's fine," he reassured.

Mitsuru nodded. "I was hoping to get your feedback on a few things. My sore muscles are already hinting at what the answer might be, but I'd like to get an outside perspective on how I performed last night."

 _Holy shit. I can't pass this up._

"Last night?" He asked with feigned ignorance.

The faintest shade of red appeared on the aristocrat's cheeks as her poor phrasing became apparent to her.

"I-In Tartarus, I meant. Same goes for Yamagishi and her reconnaissance abilities," she said with as much dignity as she could salvage.

"To be perfectly honest your persona was quite powerful, but your endurance… I wasn't going to comment on it, but we usually move _much_ faster than last night's pace," he commented.

"It's just as I feared then. My skills have already atrophied," she said.

"You should join us in our morning exercises. It might not be as rigorous as Tartarus, but it'll at least bring you back up to speed," he suggested.

Mitsuru pursed her lips before sighing. "I wish it were that simple. I've been on the phone non-stop with our accountants for the past two weeks. Financing a private war is... _difficult_ to hide from auditors. We're big, but a lot of Korean and American tech giants aren't above corporate warfare against us. We can't risk having 8,000,000 yen go to 'administrative expenses' with their prying eyes on our finance sheets."

She rubbed her temples and sunk into her armchair.

"Laundering money, managing a combat team, ordering munitions, erasing hospital data, writing reports, negotiating with contractors over equipment costs, keeping up appearances at school… I'm swamped, Minato. If it weren't for your assistance with student council I might've needed to step down as class president," she vented.

He couldn't help but sympathize with the aristocrat. The week he spent sober had been especially brutal. Amphetamines were no longer non-negotiable if he was going to maintain his current workload. Studying, fighting, socializing, team cohesion, it all ate up enormous chucks of his time. A day where he had half an hour to himself was becoming a rarity.

"I know the feeling. I've spent so many hours pouring over field manuals, micro-managing our fire team, and going through firearms forums to try and get an edge over the shadows...I think I'm starting to get grey hairs from all this," he said.

Mitsuru peered at his hair and pointed out a lone strand of white hair.

"Looks like your hypothesis was correct," she observed.

He shrugged. "Nothing wrong with a touch of grey."

She gave him a half-hearted nod. "It adds character."

The aristocrat took a sip of tea before crossing her legs.

"What about Yamagishi? Is she performing adequately for your team?" She asked.

He nodded. "She can pretty much spot anything within ten meters of us in vivid detail, regardless of how high we go up. She's definitely a valuable asset at the FOB, but…"

"She's less than stellar on the front lines?" Mitsuru chimed in.

"Practically worthless. We need to get her weapons training. I'd suggest a firearm, but it's your call," he added.

"Hmm, I'll see what I can do," she hummed.

"As for her rank... If we want to keep her away from the action, we can just make her a specialist. Otherwise, let's give her a chevron to start with," he said.

"Specialist it is then. It'll be a while before I'm comfortable sending her into the front lines," Mitsuru decided.

Minato sipped his tea and scanned the aristocrat's room. A faded but familiar box was tucked away in her ornate bookshelf. Minato motioned to it and raised an eyebrow.

"You play Risk?" He asked.

She nodded. "Yes… Is that weird?"

"No, it's just that I pinned you as more of the chess type," he said.

"I used to play chess competitively until I realized I wasn't really enjoying it. With Risk I get more… immersed into the game. Of course, outside of the odd student council match, I don't really have much time or company to play with," she explained.

She looked at the box longingly before glancing at him.

"Would you care for a match? It would make that 315,000 yen blow softer to absorb…"

 _Fuck. And here I thought I was slick._

He sighed. "Alright, I call dibs on Australia."

* * *

Fuuka's arms buckled as she raised the bar off her chest. It wasn't unusual for first time lifters to have to forgo weights on their bench press. However, it was unusual for women Fuuka's age to struggle on their first set.

"C'mon, all the way up!" Akihiko encouraged.

Fuuka nodded and straightened her arms before resting the bar on the rack. She dabbed away the sweat that had begun to form on her brow and steadied her breaths.

"It's...been awhile," she panted.

"You're doing fine. Let's do some legs now. Give me a few months and you'll be squatting eighty kilos," Akihiko said.

He walked the girl over to his makeshift squat rack and drowned her with information on different lifting techniques.

Minato wiped down the equipment and motioned Yukari over.

"Let's get you prepped for your new sixty pound bow," he said.

She raised arched an eyebrow at him as she laid down on the bench.

"We got new gear?" She asked.

He nodded and got ready to spot her. "Yep, Kurosawa dropped it off last night. I meant to tell you guys, but Mitsuru and I got preoccupied with... _logistics_ to say the least."

'I heard a lot of yelling in there…" Yukari trailed.

"We take strategy seriously," he explained.

The brunette eyed him suspiciously as she lowered the 20 kilo bar down to her chest.

"Uh-huh…" she hummed.

Minato chuckled. "Pfft, you think we were fuckin' in there?"

"Wh-No! I was just…!" She babbled.

The brunette finished her set before sitting up and sighing. "Ugh, I kinda miss the stoic Minato now. "

Minato drained his face of emotion and stood at parade rest.

"I concur," he deadpanned.

Yukari cringed and waved him away.

"Christ, I forgot how _boring_ your old cadence was," she groaned.

Minato shrugged. "It kept me out of trouble... Most of the time."

"You don't seem like the trouble-making type," she observed.

He chuckled and shook his head. "Doesn't matter. I was not only a boot, I was Cadet boot. Enlisted men get hazed to all hell for the smallest infractions. You can only imagine how strict they were with 'cadidiots'."

"A boot?" She asked.

"It's slang for someone who's fresh out of bootcamp. In my case I was actually below a boot. That's pretty much a greenlight for anyone with chevrons to haze the shit out of you," he explained.

"Sounds awful," she said.

"Don't get me wrong. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world, but that's just part of the culture," he defended.

Nostalgia filled the teen as memories of scrubbing tiles and hiding from NCO's flooded back to him. A small smile formed of his face as he rested his arms against the barbell.

"Hell, now that I think about it, some of the shit they made us do was downright hilarious," he recalled.

She perked up at that. "Ooh, story time?"

"The hell? No, go do curls," he nagged.

"C'mon, I'm bored and school won't start for another hour and a half!" She whined.

He raised an eyebrow at the brunette. "Now of all times?"

She crossed her arms and looked up at him. "Please?"

* * *

"Listen up boots! Each of you shit stains will have the pleasure of mopping the parking lot today!" Their NCO bellowed out.

A cadet peered outside before looking at the grizzly man in shock.

"Wh-What!? It's still raining! How the hell are we gonna mop it all up?" He yelled.

The corporal stomped over to the cadet and placed a heavy hand on his shoulder.

"Glad to see you volunteered yourself for the night watch as well, Cadet Sergeant. If you dumb fucks stopped using up all the bandwidth you wouldn't have to do this shit. Get mopping or I'll cancel liberty for all of you fuckers!"

The cadet hung his head in defeat and murmured a weak, "Yes, sir."

"What the fuck did you just call me!? I work for a living you cunt!" He barked out.

"S-Sorry Corporal! This cadet forgot his place," he stammered out.

Minato rolled his eyes. If the cadet sergeant kept fucking up, they would end up with kitchen duty for the weekend. He got off his bunk and shared an annoyed glance with his roommates. Their instructors had really fucked them over by mixing them in with enlisted members. Sure, they were technically in separate dorms, but that didn't stop the NCO's from stealing them away for working parties and fuck-fuck games.

He felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Arisato? C'mon, grab a mop before the corporal fucks us harder!"

* * *

 _This is bullshit._

Minato wrung out the mop and clenched his teeth as a cool gale of wind chilled him to the bone. His cammies had been soaked through with frigid rain water and sweat for the past twenty minutes. Normally they'd have ponchos available for this type of weather, but their dear corporal had turned them in for inspection the day before.

He rubbed his numb hands together to try and resurrect them long enough to sate the small crowd of NCO's that had been heckling them. A few cadets gave him a sympathetic nod as they stepped back into the heavy downpour and returned to the futile task.

He mopped the asphalt half-heartedly and kept reminding himself that he had _willingly_ signed up for this three month stay at Camp Hachinohe. He could've gone to Camp Jinmachi again. The NCO's were a bunch of hard asses, but at least they usually left them alone. The NCO's here however...they were infected with the most dangerous disease a soldier could catch: boredom.

"Put some effort into it ya fuckin' pogues!"

Minato grimaced and doubled his efforts.

* * *

"You...You mopped the rain?"

"Every drop we could," Minato affirmed.

Yukari tilted her head and looked at him dumbfoundedly. "But why the hell…?"

Minato shrugged. "When your NCO says 'mop the rain', you mop that damn rain. Otherwise you get an even harsher NJP. Erm, that's a 'punishment'."

"Soldiers are weird," she concluded.

"Soldiers are bored," he said dryly.

He snorted. "Hell, if China doesn't invade Taiwan or sink a Filipino ship anytime soon the hazing is just gonna get more elaborate."

* * *

"Minato-kun? May I have a word with you in my office?" Ikutsuki asked.

Minato grimaced. Ikutsuki had been pretty good to SEES, but that damn holster in his jacket put him on edge.

He nodded and followed the man upstairs to his makeshift office.

Ikutsuki motioned towards a worn leather seat as he sunk into his office chair.

"You've been busy this month," he observed.

Minato nodded.

"I have to say I'm impressed with how well you've performed during the Dark Hour. Your entire team is far beyond expectations," he complimented.

"Expectations?" Minato asked.

Ikutsuki chuckled. "Sorry if that was a little too clinical. I don't wanna make it seem like this is all some evil science experiment from a thriller."

"You aren't the first team assembled to try and suppress the Shadows. Kirijo personnel have been fighting this little…'shadow' war for quite some time now with varying degrees of success. SEES has been our most successful group, and your generation has the highest kill count," he clarified.

 _My generation? I thought that Akihiko and Mitsuru eclipsed our performance… Guess I stand corrected._

"I see," Minato said.

The scientist let out a small chuckle at his response. "Heh, 'see'. Get it? See, SEES?"

Minato stared blankly at the man has he waited on his reaction.

Ikutsuki took the awkwardness in stride and leaned in.

"Not one for conversation, eh? Don't worry I won't eat up much more of your time. I've been meaning to ask, why have you decided to stay? I'm grateful for your membership, but so far the Dark Hour has not been kind to you."

 _Money. Nationalism. Stupidity...Camaraderie._

Minato shrugged. "It's complicated."

Ikutsuki nodded respectfully.

"I won't pry. Whatever the case may be, I'm glad you're with us. Enjoy your evening, Minato-kun," he said.

* * *

Minato passed the cleaning rod through the barrel of his Mauser as he sat in deep thought. Despite the many hypotheses going through his head, he couldn't come up with a good reason as to why he hadn't bailed on SEES after their first mission. The concept of death terrified him to no end. It's what ultimately made him decide to switch out of infantry for an artillery MOS. Yet here he was, cleaning his rifle for the next potentially lethal op.

 _Is it the money?_

The Kirijo luxury was certainly welcome. He'd spent the past decade in a cramped studio apartment and on-base dorms with multiple roommates. The privacy offered to him by his new accommodations was intoxicating. No longer was he stuck with 3 other teens that quickly depleted their tissue supplies. And the concept of having _spending_ money? It was something he could get used to.

Then again, having your hand sliced off is probably worth more than a clean dorm and a couple thousand yen… It had to be something else. He wasn't above making peace with death for pay, but 30,000 yen was _far_ too low a starting bid for his life.

 _Is it_ _ **them**_ _?_

He'd never managed to make friends worth a damn during his time as a cadet. It wasn't to say that he was a recluse. He shot the shit with his roommates and did his best to get on with them. He just chose to abstain from making deep connections with his peers. People he cared about had a tendency to get crushed inside automobiles. Despite the carefully constructed walls he had placed, he was beginning to think his fellow SEES members were among the people he cherished the most.

The thought unsettled him. The last time he opened up to others it ended less than amicably. He wasn't looking forward to getting pried out of a car by a rescue team for a _third_ time. Still, Junpei, Yukari...hell, his senpai too. He couldn't slip on his emotionless mask around them anymore, even if he tried.

Whatever the reason may be, he wasn't going to consider deserting SEES anytime soon. He could only hope his team had the same plans.


	18. Chapter 18

**AN:** I got back to back 50 hour work weeks so shit went by slow. I think I got better at this. Slightly.

 **Last Edited:** 08/23/16, Cringy typo galore.

* * *

 **The Lover and the Fool**

"You've prevailed yet again."

Minato groaned as he opened his heavy eyelids to address the intruder.

"Can't you just leave a note or something?" Minato whined.

The boy ignored him and continued, "Do you remember what I said before? About everything coming to an end? Well, I recalled something else."

He propped himself up on Minato's desk and relaxed his posture.

"I'm fairly certain that the end is inevitable. But, it's funny… It doesn't seem so certain, considering the vast potential within you. As a matter of fact, your power seems to have changed quite a bit," he said.

Minato stared at the kid blankly. His adderall tablet had worn off long ago and he wasn't in the mood to listen to cryptic bullshit.

The kid took his silence as his cue to speak, "Hey, if you don't mind, can I be your friend? I'm very curious about you… Is that okay?"

 _Good god Minato, you leave the academy for two months and now you're getting close to ghosts. Fuck it, if you can fight sentient tables you can become friends with this kid._

"Fine by me," Minato yawned.

The kid smiled.

"Then, from now on, we'll be friends. My name is...Pharos. You may call me that if you wish," he said.

"Pharos, got it. I'd like to savor my sleep tonight, if you don't mind," Minato deadpanned.

* * *

Minato looked at the suit clad man incredulously. The last time he'd seen him he tried to solicit 40,000 yen for some vague investment plan. Minato wasn't interested in handing out Kirijo dollars so callously and had politely declined the man's offer.

"I insist. Opportunities like this should not be squandered. I would've kissed the feet of anyone who made me such a lucrative offer when I started out in business," said the Businessman.

Minato sighed and brushed past him.

The man's face contorted in anger as if he was being ignored by a mere pleb.

"Why you little-! I'm not some salaryman making sales right now! Even a moron like you would be able to recognize the fabulous Tanaka!" He yelled.

Minato shrugged. "Never heard of you."

"Damn it! I just gave away my identity to this brat! I can't have my image get tarred by this!" Tanaka whispered to himself.

"Excuse me?" Minato asked as he turned on his heel.

"Shit, he heard that!?" Tanaka muttered out.

He cleared his throat and held out a hand. "I'm President Tanaka. I was out here for scouting talent. You see, we're interested in hiring stunning young men such as yourself to advertise our products. Surely you're eager to sign on, aren't you?"

"Not in the slightest," Minato deadpanned as he looked at his outstretched hand. He wasn't gonna join a pyramid scheme today.

Tanaka's left eye twitched as he tried to compose himself.

"Kid, part of making it big is knowing when to walk. You made a good call opting out of my investment scheme, but I just made you an offer for legitimate employment. Dental, sick days, Roth 401k, all the bells and whistles," Tanaka explained.

Minato grimaced. _Shit, well there goes that I guess._

"That's the problem with you teens. You think you're valuable and try to play hard ball during an interview. Truth is you're more expendable than you think. Here, sit down and I'll explain how the world works," Tanaka offered.

Minato shook the man's hand and sat down next to him on the bench.

 ***crash***

" _I art thou._

 _Thou art I._

 _Thou shalt have our blessing when thou chooseth to summon a Persona of the Devil Arcana."_

Minato smirked as the man began to drone on about finance. _How fitting._

* * *

"That's why most businesses shut down. People start them because they're lovestruck morons who wanna turn a profit from their hobbies. A business that's based on a hobby is almost always guaranteed to fail. Do you know why?" Tanaka asked.

Minato shrugged.

"Because they think it'll be 'fun'. They're morons of the highest degree. Being a business owner isn't fun, it's just less annoying and irritating than having a normal job," Tanaka explained.

He scowled and crossed his arms.

"Let me be clear, people who go into business to start a 'doll shop' or become a 'food critic' are not serious entrepreneurs. They're lazy people who naively think that starting a business is an easy out and doesn't take a lot of effort," Tanaka ranted.

Minato propped his tired head on his hand as he nodded absentmindedly. "Uh-huh..."

Tanaka chuckled and pat him on the shoulder.

"I like you kid. You're so green to all of this. Give me a month and I'll make a wolf out of you."

He passed him a business card.

"Here, now you're officially acquainted to someone important. I spend my downtime here in the afternoons. Come visit me if you want to learn more about how the world works," he offered.

Minato offered him a curt nod. "Will do."

"And ah... D-Don't go around spreading rumors that I tried to scam you! I can have you sued for slander, ya know!" Tanaka blurted out.

Minato sighed before looking the businessman in the eye.

"Wasn't planning on it," he said.

"Good, good. A verbal agreement is a binding contract and can be enforced in a court of law! Don't forget that!" Tanaka yelled as the teen walked away.

* * *

Akihiko sat quietly on Mitsuru's sofa as she droned on about logistics. Why he ever agreed to these "officer meetings" was beyond him.

"-orrow. These funds must be allocated on a basis of need. Minato, you have the most frontline experience. What's our most pressing need?" Mitsuru asked.

The junior rubbed his chin in thought before muttering, "...Armor."

Mitsuru looked at the teen in surprise. "Hm? Are you certain? I was under the impression that we were fine in that department. Sans Akihiko, of course."

"We had an amputation and two severe lacerations with our current gear. It's time to upgrade," he said matter-of-factly.

"Agreed. And please don't stick me in some bulky suit again. I need to be flexible if I wanna keep my limbs attached," Akihiko added.

"You're an interesting case, Akihiko. Outside of electricity, everything is a threat to you," Mitsuru observed.

"I do alright..." He grumbled.

She had a point. He was supposed to be a frontline fighter. His strength and skill was leagues beyond the rest of them, yet he was finding himself limping back to the lobby more often than not.

"Of course. I was just trying to brainstorm some possible solutions for you. Lightweight, heat resistant, wind resistant, ice resistant, puncture resistant, flexible, and affordable armor is a challenging proposition," she said.

"Kevlar covers...and a jacket?" Minato suggested.

"A fire resistant jacket? Where the hell are we gonna find that? A firestation?" Akihiko asked.

Minato shrugged. "There's plenty of treated cotton jackets out there. You could probably get a cheap one at a work uniform supplier."

"Alright, I think that works. I can get the kevlar coveralls from the Kirijo Group. We use them for our electricians whenever a site needs maintenance," Mitsuru noted.

"Kevlar? For electrical work? You sure it's not cotton?" Minato asked.

Mitsuru nodded as she jotted down notes on her laptop. "I'm certain. Otherwise we've been paying 70,000 yen per suit for sub-par materials."

"Huh. Okay, that'll do nicely then," he said.

Akihiko motioned towards them. "What about you two? Junpei and Yukari rarely get injured... Actually, scratch that. Junpei and Yukari rarely get injured from direct attacks, so we can leave their gear for another time."

Minato traced a finger along his femoral artery.

"Leg protection would be nice. Preferably soft armor; I'm not looking to lose my cartilage just yet," he said dryly.

"...Is ceramic fine? Kurosawa-san has some leg plates in stock, if I remember correctly," she offered.

He frowned before nodding begrudgingly.

"Alright, I think that wraps this up for today," she announced.

"Huh? You're not getting anything?" Akihiko asked.

She sighed. "I'm afraid we only have 200,000 yen to work with. I'll just use your old plate carrier for now."

"You sure? That's twelve kilos you're gonna have to lug around," Minato warned.

Akihiko looked at the teen knowingly. They'd both been stuck with the heavy, suffocating ceramic plates. He gave Mitsuru a week before she switched to something more lightweight.

"I'm sure," she affirmed.

"We strapped for cash? With the way you've been treating us to lunch I'd have never guessed," Minato said.

"It's one thing for catering bills to show up on a woman's credit card, but highly _illegal_ armor and ammunition? I need to keep clean records for our sake and that of the Kirijo Group. Laundered money is our only resource outside of what we find in Tartarus," she explained.

"So on paper SEES is rich, but in practice we're stuck with whatever the National Tax Agency can't hold against us?" Minato asked for clarification.

She nodded. "Correct."

"Alright, guess we'll just tighten our belts for now then. I'll have my team double their efforts at scavenging," he said.

Mitsuru smiled and shook her head. "You work them hard enough as is. Trust your senpai and leave the financing to us."

"Us? I ain't loaded with tech money," Akihiko pointed out.

She grinned devilishly. "You're in calculus AB, are you not? I just so happen to need a capable assistant for my accounting."

He gave a nervous chuckle. "Hehe, nice one Mitsuru."

She stared at him intently as he shifted awkwardly.

"...You're serious, aren't you?"

* * *

Minato was buried into his field manual as he tried to etch the elaborate firing positions into his head. The previous barricade they'd encountered had disappeared according to Elizabeth. How she had his number, or any service, was beyond him. Regardless, he needed to be at peak performance to minimize their inevitable injuries.

 _Might not have too many of those anytime soon, though._

Their new armor had arrived after all. It wasn't perfect, far from it, but they should be significantly harder to injure now.

 _Who's to say the new floor won't have stronger Shadow's to match our defenses?_

This was quickly turning into an arms race between humanity's feats of engineering and chemistry versus the sheer mystical power of the Shadows.

He'd have to consult with Mitsuru for future armor ideas. Outside of PASGT, IBA, and MTV rigs, he couldn't think of anything else.

 _Not that I want to wear any of those sixteen kilo furnaces._

He put the thought aside and idly flipped through another page of his field manual. Minato spared a glance at the door as he waited anxiously for Junpei to return from Kendo practice. The teen had been vehemently against the idea at first, but with enough coaxing and icy glares, Mitsuru finally managed to convince him to enroll.

After what felt like hours, the lobby door finally creaked open and revealed the sweaty junior.

"Enjoy your first day?" Minato asked.

Junpei tossed his gym bag to the ground and claimed the armchair. He fanned himself with his ballcap and plucked at his sweat stained collar as he relaxed into the cushion.

"Hell no! It was 34 degrees in the practice room and the AC went out," Junpei grumbled.

"Been in that situation waaay too many times," Minato sympathized.

Junpei nodded lazily. "Yeah, man. Screw this heat."

"On the plus side, I actually picked up a few tricks today. I'm kinda lookin' forward to going back to Tartarus and trying 'em out," he said.

Minato closed his field manual and did his best to look casual. "That mean you're up for Tartarus tonight? The old barricade is gone."

Junpei tilted his head. "Wha-? How the hell do you know?"

Minato's brain scrambled for a reasonable explanation.

"I um… I just do, alright? Remember last month? This is right around the time the other barricade disappeared," Minato explained.

"Uh-huh…" Junpei hummed skeptically.

A few seconds passed before the capped teen made his decision.

"If the others get on board, I'm down. I honestly got nothin' better to do on a Saturday," he said.

Minato suppressed a fist pump and nodded plainly. "Alright, I'll rally the team. Check out the armory. I got something new for you."

* * *

Junpei ascended the stairs to the next level of Tartarus. Akihiko and Mitsuru flanked him while their ranged fighters took the rear.

He unsheathed his Miao Dao and chewed nervously on his stick of gum. He'd gotten better at calming his nerves these past few months. Sure, he wasn't ecstatic about combat like Akihiko, but he could keep himself together. Somewhat.

 _How the hell do I not have anything better to do on a Saturday night?_

The 1.2 meter blade in his hands steeled his resolve as heroic imagery filled his head. He wasn't geared out in Samurai armor and wielding a hand crafted Katana, but the Chinese sabre and zylon vest would have to do for now. A rag-tag hero is still a hero after all. Hell, he could probably stop by the home economics room and get himself a cape if he wanted...

Junpei tossed the thought aside and scanned his surroundings as he reached the top of the staircase. The new floor was a near carbon copy of the one's they'd fought through last week. The same purple hue covered the tiles and ornate walls. Carved faces and demons decorated the halls as a seemingly infinite supply of crimson blood flowed from the ceiling.

"Creepy…" Yukari whispered.

He nodded in agreement and tightened his grip on the saber. The blank marble faces glared lifelessly at him as he squinted at the darkness in the distance. He looked away from the eerie carvings and turned to Minato expectantly.

The teen brandished his shotgun and scanned the dark halls surrounding them.

"Fuuka, you see anything important?" Minato asked.

"There's two groups of shadows… about 30 meters away on your right side...and 50 meters directly in front of you," she informed.

"Understood," he replied robotically before turning to face them.

"Junpei, take out the Shadow to our right with Sanada and Kirijo-senpai. Yukari and I will scout the hallway to our left and rendezvous with you once you're done," he instructed.

Junpei gave a short nod and followed Akihiko as he led the way. He wasn't a fan of being bossed around by the junior, but if he got to kick some serious ass with his senpai... Well, he could get used to it.

* * *

The trio wandered around the dimly lit halls, stopping only to get directions from Fuuka.

Junpei popped another stick of gum into his mouth as he endured the heavy silence. He didn't do "quiet". He needed noise to ease his nerves. Be it conversation on the train ride to school or leaving his TV on at night, there _had_ to be something going on.

"So...Who's in charge?" He asked out of the blue.

Akihiko wasted no time in answering as he turned around to face him.

"I have the most experience out of all of us, so I'll take the reigns," he declared.

As if to accentuate the point, he rested a hand on his evoker and stood erect.

The temperature of the hall dropped as Mitsuru stared down the boxer.

"Excuse me, lieutenant?" She warned.

"Wh-What? You seriously gonna pull that rank crap on me?" Akihiko stammered.

"I like it. It lets us know who calls the shots in situations like this," she stated in a tone that oozed authority.

"Yeah, because you're the defacto leader under that system..." He grumbled.

"I didn't choose to be your 'general'. I was given the title _and_ the responsibilities by a capable third party," she pointed out.

He bit his lip before nodding reluctantly.

"Fine. I'll defer to you. Just...don't push yourself, okay? You've only been back in the game for two weeks," he reminded.

"I'll be fine, Akihiko," she assured.

It became apparent to the two seniors that their third member was standing uncomfortably beside them. Junpei hid behind his ballcap and swayed restlessly with his hands in his pockets as they had their stand off.

"My apologies, Iori. You shouldn't have to see that," she said.

She motioned to the darkness in the distance. "Shall we get moving?"

They traveled slowly and methodically until Fuuka gave them a warning.

"It's five meters to your left. You see it, senpai?"

Mitsuru squinted at the dark hallway fruitlessly before replying, "I don't have a visual."

"It's there, senpai. I'm sure of it," she assured.

Junpei pressed his evoker against his temple and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Need a light, senpai?" He giggled out.

She rolled her eyes and nodded. "Go for it."

Hermes emerged above them and coated the dark hall with bright orange flames. Pained screeches quickly followed as two large humanoid Shadows bolted out of the flames. The three meter tall strongmen split up and reeled their fists back to flatten the teens.

"They're weak to electricity!" Fuuka quickly informed.

Akihiko weaved away from the Shadow's fist and struck it down with a zio spell. The giant twitched violently as it's neurons were frenzied by the sudden influx of impulses. He pelted the Shadow with zio spell after zio spell until it's movements ceased altogether.

He turned on his heel to aid the others, only to find a still cadaver with several icicles protruding from its skull. Junpei was sprawled out next to it on the tile floor. The teen gave a tired groan as he forced himself back on his feet.

Mitsuru gave him a hand and hoisted him to his feet. "Are you alright, Iori?"

He nodded. "Ngh... Yeah, I'm good. The vest soaked most of it up."

Akihiko was about to crack a joke when he suddenly noticed just how _dry_ his throat was. He wiped the sweat that coated his brow before chugging down half of his canteen. His damp coveralls clung tightly to his skin as the jacket around his torso starved his flesh of oxygen. With a few frustrated tugs, he ripped the offending cloth away and basked in the cool breeze that flowed through the hall.

Mitsuru glared at him in disapproval. "Akihiko..."

He frowned and begrudgingly put the jacket back on.

"C'mon, it's not like we're gonna get hit by ic-"

A grapefruit sized block of ice struck his chest and exploded into a cloud of shrapnel. His dense jacket insulated him from the frigid blast as his kevlar coveralls repelled the icy shards.

Mitsuru stepped in to shield him while Junpei scorched the offending shadows. A bright flash of orange appeared before the black blobs were reduced to steaming ooze.

"You were saying?" She taunted.

Junpei snickered as he stowed his evoker and helped brush off the shards of ice coating the boxer.

Akihiko sighed and hung his head. "...Point taken."

* * *

Yukari groaned as they hit another dead end. The hallway had been deceptively large, and if it hadn't been for Fuuka they would've probably gotten lost on the way back. Minato went on without her as he scanned one of the unexplored halls. She would've jogged over to join him had it not been for the sack of bricks she was stuck lugging around.

The growing power of Io had allowed her some reprieve by removing the need for her bulky medical kit, but that weight had been quickly replaced by bottled water and rations. Mitsuru had taken to logging the amount of food and water that they normally burned through. A wise practice indeed. If you weren't the one stuck lugging around two liters of water...

She couldn't complain. Minato was carrying damn near double her load and he never whined about his back.

 _Doesn't make the scoliosis any easier to accept though._

She tightened the straps of her ruck before picking up the pace and catching up to Minato.

The teen jumped in place and jerked his head at the sudden movement before sighing in relief at the sight of her.

"S-Sorry, I'm just jumpy right now. Something about this floor seems off," he said.

"Yeah… it's usually a bit more crowded. Kinda weird that there's only two groups of Shadows…" She mused.

He nodded sagely before leaning in close and grinning.

"I might not be as cute when I get jolted, but I think that makes us even now," he teased.

 _You sonuvabitch!_

Yukari cringed at the reminder. "Ugh, just when I thought I had that memory repressed…"

"It was absolutely adorable," he affirmed.

Yukari's cheeks tinged red as she glared at the teen.

"Kill yourself," she huffed out.

He knew that he was pushing her buttons. He **had** to know. And she was absolutely hating him for it right now.

Minato snickered and pressed his evoker to his head.

"As you wish," he said with a bow.

Fuuka's gentle voice interrupted them. "Umm… Minato-kun?"

"Y-Yes?" He replied as he awkwardly holstered his evoker.

Yukari giggled at his sudden change of tone and stuck her tongue out.

"Now that's just plain fucking cute," he whispered as Fuuka debriefed him.

Her blush returned in full force as his comment registered. She elbowed his chest and instantly regretted her decision. Her bone struck the hard ceramic plating before bouncing off harmlessly. She winced and rubbed her elbow as Minato swallowed his laughter.

"-ijo-senpai's team defeated the all Shadows on this floor. They're waiting on you now," Fuuka informed.

Minato nodded in approval. "All of them? Huh. Alright, we'll make our way there."

He turned to face her.

"...What?"

She pouted. "I'm not cute."

Minato put on his poker face and stood at parade rest.

"Hm? I'm not sure I follow, Takeba-san. Let's focus on the task at hand," he deadpanned.

"You're one stunt away from not getting healed, Minato," she warned.

He quickly dropped the act and offered her a short bow. "L-Lets get going..."

* * *

Mitsuru swallowed dryly as she stared at the three hulking beetles blocking their path. Their ornate gold and purple chitin gave them an aura of nobility as they stared blankly back at her.

 _Doesn't make them less intimidating..._

She had to give her team credit; they all seemed eager and ready to fight. Her early days hadn't been anywhere near as graceful, not that she'd ever admit it.

She gripped her rapier tightly and adjusted her cap before taking a deep breath to compose herself. It had been a while since she'd had to fight a formidable Shadow. Her heart raced as an even mix of adrenaline and fear flowed through her. The cocktail of chemicals was intoxicating. The brutal dryness of her managerial lifestyle had left her yearning for an escape, and the rush of combat was just what she needed right now.

All eyes fell on her as they awaited orders. Had this been three months ago she would've been barking out instructions left and right, but perhaps it was time for her to step back from that role…

"Arisato, I'm entrusting our tactics to you. Use your best judgement," she said.

The teen gave her a surprised look before nodding and dragging his team around to better suited positions. A prideful smile made it's way to her face as she watched the young tactician at work. She'd invested a lot into him, and it seemed that her dividends had finally come. Gone were the shaky hands and uncertain eyes. With a bit of motivation the teen had turned out to be a fine leader.

 _Maybe a better leader than me._

He broke her out of her thought as he hauled her off along with the other melee fighters into a neat triangle up front and close to the Shadows.

Her heart fluttered as she stared down the insects. Her persona had been restless from its reconnaissance role and was eager to kill. Fear gave way to giddy excitement as the time drew near. Penthesilea was yearning to be used and wanted out **now**. She took in a deep breath to focus her mind. While the added martial prowess of a restless persona was certainly an asset, the consequences for letting it take over were devastating.

 _Aragaki…_

She shook her head and narrowed her eyes on the Shadows ahead. Now wasn't the time to reflect on the past.

* * *

The trio of beetles towered over them as Minato finalized his plans. Gone was the friendly banter they'd shared on the way to the 47th floor as the teen took on a clinical tone.

"Yamagishi, scan them for weaknesses. Sans any intel, we'll just try a bit of everything on the center target in quick succession. Iori, use agi. If that fails, try your blade out. Sanada, use zio. Don't bother punching them. Kirijo, use bufu. Takeba, use Garu. Got it?" He droned out.

"Affirmative. We'll make short work of them," Mitsuru replied.

Akihiko shared a confident grin with the team as he pressed the cold barrel of his evoker against his temple. She admired the boxer's courage. He may have a tendency to run in swinging, but beneath that all raw strength was a cool and calculating mind.

"Hmm… It looks like they're weak to electricity. I don't think piercing attacks will be very effective though…" Fuuka informed.

Mitsuru heard Minato snicker as he received the information.

"Something funny, Arisato?" She asked.

The field leader slung his shotgun over his shoulder in favor of his Mauser. He dug into his plate carrier and waved a clip of ammo with distinct black tips at the end of the bullets.

"It's kinda ironic. Of all the ammo Kurosawa-san could've sent, he gave me armor piercing rounds. I don't know if these'll ignore their resistance or end up doing nothing," he said.

"Worth a shot," Yukari chimed in.

Minato nodded and slid the clip into the Mauser's magazine before gently sliding the bolt back.

"Change of plans. Akihiko and I will knock 'em down, you guys finish them off," he said as he flipped off the safety.

The two teens shared a look before firing their evokers in unison.

Three bolts of lightning rang out from Polydeuces' mazio attack. The bolts burnt through the tough chitin of the beetles before sending them into a fit of spasms. Minato's own mazio spell followed shortly after. The electricity struck their downed forms and brought their exoskeletons to their boiling point. The polysaccharide armor caramelized away, revealing the light pink muscles underneath.

Mitsuru wasted no time as she dug her rapier into the exposed flesh of the nearest beetle. Her free hand wrapped around her evoker and she summoned her persona to finish the job. A sharp shard of ice began to form inside her rapier's wound channel and quickly swelled in size before exploding into icy shrapnel. The Shadow gave a pained gurgle as it collapsed down to the ground and ceased its movements.

Junpei took note from the senior and followed suit. He aimed his sabre at the seam of the arthropod's armored skull before plunging the tip as deep as his muscles would allow him. With a strained grunt he peeled away the burnt chitin and revealed the beetle's soft epidermis. As if on cue, an arrow sank into the Shadow's soft tissue and put it down for good. Junpei offered Yukari a thumbs up as he kicked the creature for good measure.

A loud shot rang out and the smell of gunpowder began to overwhelm the acrid scent of burnt chitin. Junpei snapped his head to find the last beetle slumped to the ground with it's head split like a melon. Yellow blood caked the surrounding tile in a neat arc as the corpse slowly reduced down to black ichor.

"I think the armor piercing rounds worked," Minato quipped as he rubbed his sore shoulder.

* * *

Yukari greedily scarfed down her ramen. She didn't give a shit that they'd butchered a few four meter long arthropods half an hour ago, her body needed calories **now**. Junpei shared her enthusiasm as he served himself another serving.

"Yo, Mitsuru-senpai, how'd we do?" Junpei asked between mouthfuls.

The senior looked up at him with tired eyes as she set down her bowl. The ceramic plate carrier had sapped away her usual energy with its cruel weight.

"Bien au-delà de mes attentes," she said softly with a satisfied nod.

"I concur. We steamrolled through those floors with all our limbs intact. This has to be a new record for us," Akihiko commented.

Minato bowed his head slightly for the seniors. "Merci."

Junpei groaned. "Huh…? Don't tell me you speak French too…"

Mitsuru smiled. "I'm glad you've taken the time to understand a new language, Minato-kun."

The field leader rubbed his neck awkwardly. "Uh...thanks."

Yukari noticed the worried expression on Minato's face and leaned in close to the teen.

"Something wrong?" She asked in a hushed tone.

"I… I don't know what the hell Mitsuru said. I just assumed it was a compliment," he admitted.

Junpei turned his head towards the whispering duo.

"Hey, what's with all the secrecy? We're a team, right? If you got good dirt you should share it," he said.

"The only good dirt I have is your browser history. Use crtl + shift + n more often," Minato deadpanned.

A faint blush appeared on Junpei's cheeks as he hid behind the bill of his cap.

"...That's a low blow, dude," he whispered.

"There's plenty of low blowing from what I remember…" Minato mentioned.

Mitsuru tilted her head slightly as she tried to follow along with their banter.

"I'm not sure I follow…" She said.

Yukari rolled her eyes.

"Geez, talk about a sheltered life…" She muttered.

Junpei frantically waved his hands dismissively as the aristocrat attempted to piece together the euphemisms.

"I-It's nothing senpai, j-just guy talk. Right, Minato?" He said with a panicked look in his eyes.

Minato spared the teen and nodded curtly. "Right."

Mitsuru wasn't convinced.

She turned to their resident boxer and asked, "What do you think, Akihiko?"

The senior choked down his laughter and tried to compose himself.

"They're just discussing films," he explained.

Mitsuru fished out her phone.

"Hmm, it's seems that I'm out of the loop… I should research these 'low-blowing' films online then…" She mused.

Akihiko lunged towards the girl and covered the phone's screen with his palm.

"Please don't."

* * *

The juniors were sprawled around the lobby after another brutal day of school. Minato had claimed the armchair for himself and was gently tapping his foot to the beat of his MP3 player. The other teens had take over the sofa facing the TV and were bickering over who got control of the remote.

"C'mon, I need to see what deals are on today!" Yukari growled as she tugged on the device.

Junpei shook his head and reeled the remote back towards his chest.

"Nuh-uh, I'm already two episodes behind on this show. I ain't changing shit," he said.

Fuuka timidly interjected, "Perhaps we could find some sort of middl-"

"You can always watch a rerun. I don't have that option!" Yukari interrupted.

Silence filled the room as the two of them held their ground. Fuuka gave up on trying to play the mediator and opted to retreat into the corner of sofa as the two juniors escalated their tug of war over the device. She wrung her hands before mustering the courage to reach over and tap their field leader on the shoulder.

"...Minato-kun?" She whispered.

The teen glanced at her lazily as he slid off a headphone.

"Hm?" He hummed.

She motioned to the two juniors beside her.

"Could you…?" She trailed.

Minato took note of the scene before nodding in understanding.

"Ah. Say no more," he said.

He hung his headphones around his neck and lifted himself off the armchair.

"Yukari-san, get up. We're gonna play chemist for a little bit," he announced.

The brunette kept her iron grip on the remote as she turned to face him.

"...Can it wait?" She asked.

Minato shook his head.

"M'fraid not. If we don't hit the petrol station right now we'll never make it back in time," he explained.

"Nngh… Get Junpei to do it," she groaned.

"C'mon. We'll hit the bakery on the way back. Should be sunset by then. Think of it as a flammable date," he said.

Yukari sighed and released her death grip.

"Fine… prepare your wallet," she warned.

* * *

Minato stretched his legs under the small corner booth they'd picked out. He watched the brunette as she picked out something for the two of them.

It began to bother him less and less that he could converse so naturally with the girl, and the rest of SEES for that matter. He still felt a bit anxious without his stoic security blanket. His old measured and calculated responses always provided him with a sense of control over social situations. Not that he really needed that same degree of control now that he wasn't gonna get NJP'd for looking at an NCO the wrong way.

 _Guess old habits die hard._

He slid on a headphone and tried to relax during this rare quiet moment. The second he got back to the dorm it'd be back to reading books on "charm" and infantry tactics. It was either that or watching horror films with the lights off to see just how big a pussy he was.

He frowned. Some cadet he was. Scared of the paranormal, scared of bonding, scared of going to Tartarus… How his fosters thought he'd make a good soldier was beyond him.

"Since you insisted on 'low-budget', I got us these."

He looked up to see Yukari holding a small platter of scones.

"I get wanting to save money, but 700 yen?" She said as she slid into the booth.

He shrugged. "You did say, 'prepare your wallet'..."

She raised an eyebrow at that. "So you brought less?"

"...You know I don't like spending," he mumbled.

 _Unless it's for your precious dextroamphetamines you fucking hypocrite._

She rolled her eyes and got started on a scone.

He couldn't help but gaze at the brunette. She was beginning to give off a strange aura, similar to that of his social links. It was faint, but it was there alright.

A dull pain radiated across his frontal lobe as Narcissus began to chastise him. His language was foreign to him, but the tone let him know that he wasn't happy. He'd hear his Personas say something from time to time. Usually they'd let out an animalistic noise or a victory cheer after a successful battle. He never thought much of it until now.

The lovers Persona was pissed at something he did, and he was trying his damndest to ensure he wouldn't be ignored. That much was obvious to him.

 _Why though? Why Narcissus?_

He looked at the brunette in front of him once again.

 _Pink Cardigan. Heart shaped choker. A lovers arcana Persona… Holy shit, I'm actually retarded. Yukari's my 'lovers' social link! Aww shit, is Narcissus mad that I didn't splurge on her?_

Minato coughed awkwardly as he broke the silence.

"...Sorry about that. I'll see about taking you somewhere nicer some other time," he apologized.

"You still owe me for that shit on Saturday, 'kay?"

"Yeah, yeah..." he grumbled.

"Anyways, I didn't invite you here to enjoy the local cuisine. You wanted Kirijo information? I got some. Consider it part of my payback for that Tartarus op," he said.

Yukari nodded and leaned in. "This better be good, then."

"Yeah, sort of. Ikutsuki-san mentioned previous attempts at fighting the shadows. Stuff that pre-dates our membership. I know from Mitsuru that the Kirijo Group hierarchy is well aware of us and the Shadows."

"Huh… Could he have meant the original SEES? It was made up of Mitsuru and Akihiko senpai," she recalled.

"Actually, come to think of it, they had some third member they never talked about," she added.

"More importantly, if he wasn't talking about the original member roster then how long has the Kirijo group known about this? Ikutsuki-san said they've been fighting the Shadows for 'quite some time'. Is that a year? A decade? If so, then why have we managed to beat out an international corporation's efforts in just three months?" He pondered.

"That's exactly it! We don't know what they've been up to. Any R&D labs that I tried to look up prior to 2000 are non-existent. We know that can't be the case since they did release new products back then," she pointed out.

"Hmm. I'll do what I can to find out more. I don't really care about their ethics or their past as long as they're bankrolling us, but…"

Yukari looked taken aback by his statement.

"But what?" She prodded.

"We need to see their research on the shadows. I asked Mitsuru for a copy over a month ago and haven't heard back since. It's imperative that we fully understand what we're up against, especially if they want us to risk our lives for their cause," he said.

"Tsk. And their ethics don't matter?" She nagged.

He shrugged. "Depends on their results."

"Seriously? It doesn't bother you _how_ they reach those results?" She asked incredulously.

"It bothers me. I just don't get hung up on it," he clarified.

"Huh..." She mused.

"I think we'll have to agree to disagree," he said.

Yukari nodded and turned her attention back to the pastries in front of them.

"...Anyways, enough philosophy. I missed my show over these and by god am I gonna eat them!"

* * *

The duo returned to dorm to find the kitchen in disarray. The scent of burnt food wafted over to them as Fuuka scrubbed a pot vigorously. Foreign black sludge filled its interior and refused to budge from its domain.

"Good god…" Minato muttered under his breath.

Junpei jogged over to the crime scene with sterile wipes in hand. He froze when he spotted the two of them in the lobby.

"I uh… I can explain," Junpei sputtered out.

Minato shook his head and waved him off.

"I'm gonna pretend that I never saw this. Yukari and I will get petrol bombs ready for our next operation. Have this dealt with by the time we get back," Minato instructed.

"WE JUST WANTED TO MAKE RICE!" They heard Junpei yell as they walked up the stairs.

* * *

The two juniors were camped out in the dorm's rooftop as the sun began to set over Iwatodai. A cool breeze blew in from the surrounding ocean and wafted the pungent smell of petrol away from them.

Yukari sat down on the cool cement and got started on helping her field leader prepare the batch of homemade explosives.

"So…" She trailed.

Minato looked up from the bottle he was preparing. "Hm?"

She wrung her hands and continued, "About the Kirijo Group…"

"Cut to the chase," he said as he returned his focus to the bottle.

"Can you hack them?" She asked.

"There's practically no public data about them outside of their commercial role," she added.

Minato chuckled. "H-Hack them? Man, you must think I'm smart or something."

She frowned at his response and crossed her arms.

"You can't do it?" She asked dejectedly.

"Look, I barely know my way around Kali Linux. I'd be lucky to steal a social media account without getting caught," he said as he topped off another bottle.

She sighed and crammed a rag into her petrol bottle with a little more force than was necessary.

"Ugh, dammit! I don't know how else we're gonna get more information…" She muttered.

Minato mulled over her request. He _could_ hack into one of their devices. Whether it would yield any useful information or jail time was anyone's guess. He didn't really know anyone else into tech except for...

"If you're deadset on hacking… ask Yamagishi," he recommended.

The brunette perked up at that. "Fuuka? You think she can do it?"

"I'm a technician at best. Yamagishi, though… She's a savant compared to me. I've picked up a few tricks on Debian from her," he said.

She offered him an appreciative nod. "Alright, I'll ask her."

They worked in silence for a little while. Each bottle was filled methodically and then stored safely in a metal crate. Yukari finished up her portion before standing up triumphantly.

"I'm all set. You almost done?" She asked.

Minato nodded as his hands made short work of the task.

"Just about...done!" He said as he stored the last makeshift explosive.

Yukari watched the teen as he locked the crate. She'd been wondering why he asked her specifically to accompany her. Was it all just to talk about the Kirijo Group? It seemed plausible... She bit her lip and mustered her courage. She wasn't a dumb freshman girl that would shy away from speaking her mind, dammit! She could be direct.

"Hey... Why me?" She asked softly.

Minato turned around and cocked an eyebrow. "Why you?"

"Yeah, for this. You could've picked Junpei to accompany you," she pointed out.

"To be honest? I wanted to treat you out. I can give you hard time, but I really do appreciate you. Your work is invaluable for our team," he said earnestly.

A smile snuck it's way on to her face as his words registered. "O-Oh. I really wasn't expecting that answer."

"What'd you expect? Something like, 'I wanted to see your mechanical proficiency, Takeba-san'?" He joked.

She nodded. "Yeah, actually."

Minato sighed and shook his head. "Welp, that's one first impression I'll never recover from."

"We should do this again sometime. I don't take enough time to bond with you guys," he said as he swung his coat over his shoulder.

She smiled. "I'd like that."


End file.
